Shining Brighter
by Emconn
Summary: Raelyn, Edmund, and Lucy have been called back to Narnia. However their annoying cousin is along for the ride too. Join them as they sail out on the Dawn Treader with Caspian and his crew. How will they handle the darkness that has been taking over? What deep seeded problems will this adventure reveal? [Sequel to Light in my Darkness]
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, finally got this Sequel up and running. Hope you all enjoy!**

...

Raelyn made her way down the streets of Cambridge, glancing upwards as a plane flew overhead. She tugged her coat tighter as she made her way towards where Edmund and Lucy had been staying for almost a year. As the war had progressed Peter and Susan had moved over to America with their parents while the other two were left behind for schooling. At least that was one of the reasons given to them. Raelyn had transferred schools with them, easily persuading her Grandmother, whom she was currently living with.

As she walked, Raelyn clutched the letters in her hands. One for each of her brothers. Finding a post box, she quickly deposited them sighing as it was just another reminder that she was stuck in England without them for the time being. Across the street, a poster for recruitment caught her eye. All boys over 18 had been encouraged to enlist, and was the big thing nowadays. However, something else caught her eye near the advertisement.

"Lucy?" Raelyn called, curious as to why she was there. Lucy looked up from where she was holding her box of groceries.

"Raelyn" she grinned, waiting patiently as the redhead made her way across the street.

"What are you doing here?" the older girl asked with a polite smile. Lucy sighed.

"Edmund and I were supposed to be out getting groceries for dinner tonight." Raelyn frowned, glancing around for a familiar mop of dark hair.

"Then where is Ed?" she asked. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Where do you think?" she deadpanned. Raelyn frowned, looking over at the door of the recruiter's office.

"Trying to enlist again?" she sighed. Edmund had been so dead set on getting in the army for the past year and Raelyn couldn't figure out why. The need to participate came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Alright then, let's go get him." Raelyn sighed, leading the way up the stairs.

...

Edmund Pevensie stood before the enlistment officer, trying to stand as tall as he could. The man at the desk eyed him critically.

"Are you sure you're 18?" he asked skeptically.

"Why do I look older?" Edmund asked seriously. The man pursed his lips but reached for Ed's identification. Opening the paperwork, he frowned.

"Alberta Scrubb?" he deadpanned, shooting Edmund disbelieving stare.

"Typographical error. It's supposed to be Albert A. Scrubb." Edmund quickly explained.

"Edmund." A voice called from the door. Lucy stared at her brother in exasperation while Raelyn smiled softly. Edmund clenched his eyes shut, knowing he had been caught.

"You're supposed to be helping me with the groceries." Lucy reminded tiredly. The boys in line behind him laughed. Edmund growled and snatched the papers back from the officer.

"Better luck next time eh squirt?" a boy behind him chortled, ruffling his hair. Edmund glared and jerked away from him, heading back to his sister and girlfriend.

...

"Squirt? He barely had 2 years on me." Edmund muttered sourly as he took the box of groceries from Lucy once they were outside.

"I'm a king. I've fought wars and I've led armies." He ranted, roughly tying the box to the back of the bicycle.

"Not in this world." Raelyn reminded gently. Edmund huffed in frustration.

"Yea, instead I'm stuck here doing battle with Eustace Clarence Scrubb." Edmund muttered. Raelyn smiled sympathetically before leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. This got him to grin at her, his eyes softening significantly.

"You wanna know what I did last night?" Raelyn mused, hugging Edmund around his waist. Ed secured his arm around her shoulders.

"Another dream about practicing your powers?" He asked, curiously. Once they had returned to England Raelyn had been having reoccurring dreams of Aslan training her as she couldn't really do it in the 'real world'. She assumed that meant they would return sooner rather than later. Of course, none of them were overly sure if she was imagining it or if she truly was mastering her powers but she remained hopeful. They would just have to see if she had improved the next time Narnia needed them.

"I discovered a new one." Raelyn told him excitedly. Edmund smiled proudly.

"Well it's nice to know at least one of us is still useful." He commented.

"You just need to lighten up and stop trying to be so macho man all the time." Raelyn teased. Edmund frowned, puffing himself up subconsciously.

"I am loose." He protested.

"No, you're not. You're being a Debbie Downer." Raelyn giggled, shaking her head. Edmund's brow rose, staring at her in a predatory manor. Her eyes widened in alarm.

"Don't you dare." She warned, trying to wiggle out of his grip. Edmund tightened his hold on her and began tickling her mercilessly. Raelyn squealed in laughter as she tried to escape, Edmund laughing along with her.

...

Lucy watched them with a frown as a small spike of jealousy and self-doubt took over. Why didn't she have someone look at her like Ed looked at Raelyn? Being left with the two of them, Lucy had started looking at herself critically. Her brother was so romantic with his girlfriend and Susan was always chased after by boys wherever she went. But she never experienced any of that. What was wrong with her? A chime of laughter caught Lucy's attention and she looked over, watching a girl flirt with one of the new soldiers. Lucy subconsciously pushed her hair back behind her ear, like the other girl had been.

"What are you doing?" Edmund frowned at his sister in confusion as he and Raelyn had settled down. He took notice that she had been staring off behind them for a good minute now. Lucy looked at them in surprise, before glancing down as her cheeks burned.

"Nothing." She shrugged off. Edmund frowned, not believing her.

"Come on then." Lucy urged, pulling the bicycle down the street. Edmund glanced back, wondering what could have captured her attention. Raelyn frowned, watching Lucy bury her feelings once more. She had been noticing Lucy's odd looks and was worried. Despite not having any sisters of her own, she thought of Lucy as her younger sister and had hoped the girl would confide in her. But so far, she had just shrugged it off. Lucy wasn't ready to talk about it just yet so Raelyn was content to wait it out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear diary,**

 **It is now day 253 since my wretched cousins Edmund and Lucy invaded our house. Not sure how much longer I can cope living with them, having to share my things. If only one could treat relatives like one treats insects, all my problems would be solved. I could simply put them in a jar, or pin them to my wall. That one girl that Edmund always brings around is slightly more tolerable than they are. I don't understand what she sees in the lump. Perhaps she has some sort of brain damage.**

"I'm home!" Lucy's voice called from down the stairs as the door opened. Eustace sat upright and began putting away his things.

"Note to self…investigate legal ramifications of impaling relatives." He quickly jotted before stashing his book away and dashing downstairs to terrorize his cousins once more.

...

Downstairs Edmund held the door open for the girls, reaching over to help Raelyn out of her coat. She visited the Pevensies often enough that it was a normal occurrence for her to be in the house. In the den their uncle remained still, reading his paper without acknowledging the teenager's presence.

"Hello uncle Harrold, I tried to find some carrots but all they had were turnips again. Raelyn came home with us today." Lucy told him, walking past the man towards the kitchen.

"Shall I start making soup? Aunt Alberta is on her way home." she asked, peering into the room for some type of response.

"Hello again Mr. Scrubb." Raelyn called politely as she and Edmund made their way into the room. The man grunted and simply turned the page. It was the most anyone could ever get out of the man.

"Uncle Harrold?" Lucy prodded in annoyance. Edmund rolled his eyes in disgust and stuck his tongue out at the man. It wasn't like he could see over the newspaper.

"Father, Edmund's making faces at you." Eustace instantly tattled from his spot on the stairwell. Edmund glared at his cousin before being struck by a spit ball.

"Why you little" Edmund growled, charging up the stairs.

"Father he's going to hit me!" Eustace shouted, cowering on the stair. Just before Ed reached the boy, Lucy called him.

"Edmund look! It's from Susan." She grinned, holding up a letter. Ed glared down at his cousin and brushed past him to Lucy's room. Lucy followed after her brother, already tearing into the letter. Raelyn paused, looking down at Eustace.

"You know, you're not helping anything by antagonizing your cousins." She commented gently. Eustace frowned and crossed his arms indignantly as she continued her ascent up the stairs after the siblings.

...

 **I do wish you were here with us. It's been such an adventure, but nothing like our times in Narnia. America is very exciting, except we never see father. He works so very hard. I was invited to the British consul's tea party this week by a Naval Officer, who happens to be very handsome. I think he fancies me.**

Lucy read, with a frown marring her features. Edmund sighed, standing up from the bed where they were sitting. He leaned on the mantle of the small room, staring intently at a seascape painting that hung above it. Raelyn sat quietly in the small chair silently.

 **It seems the Germans have made it difficult crossing over. It's very dangerous. Mother hopes you two won't mind another few months in Cambridge.**

Lucy continued. At the word months, Edmund whipped back around in alarm.

"Another few months, how will we survive." Lucy moaned sadly. Edmund huffed, sitting down next to her.

"This may be selfish but at least I get to keep you both for a little while longer." Raelyn piped up sheepishly. Edmund smiled softly at her.

"I told you, if you really wanted to come with us I'm sure Mother and Father won't mind you living with us for a while." He reminded. Raelyn shrugged.

"I don't know yet. The last letter from my brothers mentioned that they would be off rotation and coming home sometime soon. I would hate to leave before they got back." She told him. Edmund nodded. Ever since her brothers had been overseas for the war she had been a bit more withdrawn as she worried over them. He knew they were close, and despite his selfish desires he didn't blame her for wanting to stay for them.

"You two are lucky. You've got your own room and you live in a different house entirely. I'm stuck with mullet mouth while we're here." Edmund sighed, looking over the letter again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Raelyn covered up her grin at Edmund's names for Eustace.

"Susan and Peter are the lucky ones. Off on adventures." Lucy sighed, standing up and staring at herself critically in the mirror. Edmund grunted in agreement, lounging now that she had moved. Raelyn walked over to join him, looking over the letter as he did.

"Yea well they're the oldest and we're the youngest. We don't matter as much." He commented.

"Ed that's not true. You both matter very much." Raelyn scolded, grasping his bicep gently. Edmund grinned up at her. At least she thought so. Lucy stroked her cheek thoughtfully, ignoring the couple.

"Do you think I look anything like Susan?" she asked randomly. Raelyn looked over at her curiously but Edmund didn't hear her comment. Edmund sighed, setting the letter down once more. He looked back over at the painting, something about it nagging at him.

"Raelyn, have you seen this ship before?" he asked her, gesturing to the small ship in the corner of the artwork. Lucy turned and smiled at the painting as Raelyn stood to join Edmund.

"Yes, it's very Narnian looking isn't it?" she mused, stepping closer.

"Yea. It's just another reminder that we're here and not there." He hummed, staring at it despondently.

"There once were two orphans who spent all their time, believing in Narnian nursery rhymes." A voice hummed tauntingly behind them. Edmund growled at Eustace's smug face in the doorway.

"Please let me hit him." he snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

"No" Raelyn scolded, pulling on his arm. Edmund pouted but listened to her.

"Don't you ever knock?" he asked sourly.

"It's my house, I can do as I please. You're just guests." Eustace shot back, making his way fully inside. The siblings rolled their eyes, turning back to the painting.

"What's so fascinating about that picture anyway?" Eustace asked, sitting down behind them. Raelyn turned and rose her brow in amusement at his apparent curiosity. Eustace caught her gaze and bristled defensively.

"It's hideous." He added, crossing his arms. He would never own up to actually being curious about what those three fantasized about all the time.

"You won't see it from the other side of the door." Edmund pointed out sassily. Eustace made a face at his back.

"Edmund look, it's like the waters actually moving." Lucy mused, smiling nostalgically.

"What rubbish. See, that's what happens when you read all those fanciful novels and fairytales of yours." Eustace scoffed.

"There once was a boy called Eustace, who read book about facts that were useless." Edmund recited, shooting the girls a smug grin. Lucy smirked, while Raelyn snorted. Eustace glared at his cousin.

"People like you who read fairytales are always the sort to become a hideous burden to people like me. Who read books of real information" He shot back haughtily. Edmund whipped around on him.

"Hideous burden?" he reiterated incredulously. Eustace quickly stood up, ready to dash off.

"I haven't seen you lift a finger since we've been here." Edmund accused, prowling towards the boy. His eyes widened and he made a dash for the door, but Edmund shut it and blocked the exit.

"I have a right mind to tell Uncle Harrold that it was you who stole all of Aunt Alberta's sweets." Ed threatened.

"Liar." Eustace accused.

"Edmund the painting." Lucy called, her eyes fixated on the painting as it began to transform. Raelyn turned from the brewing fight as a breeze swept her hair. Staring at the painting she watched as the waves actually began moving and water leaked out the bottom of it. But the boys didn't hear her.

"Oh really, I found them under your bed. And you know what? I licked every one of them." Edmund sneered. Eustace shouted in disgust.

"Now I'm infected with you! How does your little girlfriend feel about your disgusting habits." he wailed.

"Don't you dare try to bring her into this!" Edmund snarled. Lucy's hair whipped about as the salty spray shot out from the picture, the ship moving closer. Eustace flinched as a spray of water hit the back of his head. The boys stared wide eyed as water began pouring out of the painting.

"What's going on here?" Eustace asked in alarm, looking at his cousins. The other three grinned, staring at the painting. They knew exactly what was going on.

"Lucy do you think?..." Raelyn grinned in anticipation.

"This is some kind of trick, knock it off or I'll tell mother!" Eustace threatened, his voice trembling as he watched the room begin to fill with water.

"And what do you plan on saying to her?" Raelyn inquired, shooting him a look. Eustace sputtered, realizing that she was right.

"Mother! Mother!" he wailed by the door.

"Lighten up Eustace, can't you see that something amazing is happening. Just embrace it." Raelyn suggested, picking up on the boy's distress. However, he dismissed that notion right away. Surely there was a logical explanation for all of this, and a logical way to get rid of it.

"Oh I'll just smash the darn thing." He declared. At this Edmund and Lucy rushed to intercept him.

"Eustace no!" Ed shouted. As the painting came off the wall, all four of them were drenched with water as it continued to pour out as they struggled for control.

"Eustace put it down!" Raelyn shouted.

"Let go!"

"Eustace drop it!"

"No!" The finally pushed it out of Eustace's hands. By this time the water had reached their waists and was quickly rising. Edmund yelped as he was pulled under.

"Edmund!" Raelyn shouted in alarm, searching the waters for him. Lucy yelped as she was the next to go. Raelyn followed shortly after. Eustace was yanked under along with them, much to his dismay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry that this chapter was a mucked up earlier. It looks fine on my end, and then sometimes it goes all wonky. Sorry about that but thanks for letting me know when it does. :) Enjoy.**

...

The four teenagers thrashed around wildly, looking for the surface as the furniture floated around them. Once some of it had cleared away they spotted a light coming from above. Edmund grabbed Raelyn's hand, making sure he didn't lose her. Following Lucy's lead, they quickly swam towards the surface. Lucy gasped as she was the first to break the surface of the water.

"Edmund? Ray?" she called. Soon a dark head surfaced, and a mop of red hair following shortly after, each of them gasping as they looked around at the open sea surrounding them. Eustace sputtered as he joined them, handling the situation much worse than they were. Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over them and the group turned, spotting a large ship heading their direction.

"Eustace swim!" Lucy shouted in alarm as it drew closer. The group quickly began paddling as fast as they could, hoping to get out of the way of the large vessel.

"Keep swimming" Raelyn encouraged, glancing back at the large dragon on the front of the ship, having no idea who the vessel belonged to. Last time they were in Narnia there was some bad blood. Who knew what was going or how long had passed this time around. She huffed as the skirt she was wearing was becoming a hinderance and dragging her down. The sounds of splashing as sailors dived in prompted all of them to swim faster. Raelyn, who was at the back of the group, yelped in alarm as she was grabbed from behind.

"It's alright, I've got you." A voice assured, as the man grasped her by the waist. Raelyn looked over at him and grinned at the familiar voice.

"Caspian!" she realized in delight, no longer struggling against his grip.

"Raelyn" he returned her enthusiasm.

"Edmund, Lucy its Caspian!" she called, getting the siblings to stop paddling away.

"It's alright, you're safe now." A crewmate assured the them as another kept heading after Eustace who was still in flight mode.

"We're in Narnia?!" Edmund asked with a grin.

"You're in Narnia." Caspian assured, helping them back towards the ship.

"I don't wanna go! I wanna go back to England! I'm going back to England!" Eustace wailed as he weakly fought against his captor. Edmund rolled his eyes in exasperation at his cousin, promptly leaving him behind as he swam towards the ship. Caspian led them over to a small ledge just under the water. He instructed them to hold tightly to the ropes as it hoisted them up onto the ship.

...

Once everyone was back onboard, crewman rushed over with towels for everyone.

"That was thrilling." Lucy commented, snuggling into the dry towel.

"How in the world did you end up here?" Caspian asked her with a grin, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"I have no idea." she chuckled.

"Caspian." Edmund called, getting the man's attention. Caspian turned and grinned at him.

"Edmund" he greeted, slinging a towel across the boy's shoulders and guiding him towards the center of the deck where the girls were.

"It's great to see you."

"It's good to see you." The two greeted.

"Didn't you call for us?" Raelyn asked curiously. Edmund wrapped her up in his towel once he reached her. Raelyn smiled contentedly, snuggling into his chest.

"No, not this time." Caspian told her, grinning at their actions.

"Well, whatever the case I'm just glad to be here." Edmund sighed happily. A shriek broke the mood on the deck and everyone turned to see Eustace flailing in fright.

"Get that thing off me!" he wailed, throwing Reepicheep across the deck.

"Reepicheep." Lucy greeted with a wide grin. The mouse whirled around in surprise.

"Oh, your majesties." He bowed respectively.

"Hello Reep, what a pleasure." Edmund grinned.

"The pleasure is all mine sir, but first what to do about this…this..this hysterical interloper." Reepicheep pointed back at the boy who was now coughing up water.

"That giant rat thing just tried to claw my face off." Eustace accused hysterically.

"I was merely trying to expel the water from your lungs sir." Reepicheep explained. Eustace started and scrambled up by the railing.

"It talked!..di…did anyone just see that? It just talked." He fretted, pointing at the mouse fearfully.

"He always talks." A crewman piped up.

"Actually, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." Caspian added teasingly.

"The moment there is nothing to be said your highness, I promise you I won't say it." Reep countered easily.

"I don't know what kind of prank this is but I want to wake up right now!" Eustace demanded tearfully. Raelyn frowned, feeling bad for the boy. But she also knew that he would absolutely refuse her company in his state so she remained in Ed's arms, watching him break down.

"Perhaps we could throw him back?" Reepicheep suggested, looking to the royals. Lucy shook her head in amusement. The girls glanced over and stared incredulously as Edmund seemed to be seriously considering it.

"Edmund" Raelyn scolded, swatting his shoulder. Ed chuckled and pulled her closer, attempting to pacify her.

"I was kidding." He muttered apologetically. Raelyn hummed, giving him a look of disbelief.

"I demand to know just where in the blazes am I?!" Eustace continued wailing as he stomped around, glaring at the men laughing at his hysterics.

"You're on the Dawn Treador, the finest ship in Narnia's navy." A Minotaur piped up helpfully. Eustace's face paled as he fell backwards, fainting. The crewmen set into a fit of laughter. Raelyn bit her lip worriedly.

"Oh dear." She muttered, making her way over to make sure his head was ok. Edmund pouted.

"Was it something I said?" the minotaur asked, looking to Caspian in confusion. The king grinned and looked down at the prone boy. Raelyn stood back up once she was sure that he wouldn't have any head damage.

"See to him, will you?" Caspian requested, taking Raelyn by the hand and looping her arm through with his. The minotaur nodded before heading over to lift Eustace up and taking him below deck to rest.

"Men" Caspian announced, walking up a few steps to they could see him after he returned Raelyn to stand by Ed and Lucy.

"Behold our castaways. Edmund the Just, Raelyn the Enchantress, and Lucy the Valiant. High Royals of Narnia." Caspian told them, gesturing to the teens on the deck. Everyone on deck took a knee of reverence. Edmund grinned, the familiar feeling of respect rushing back to him. He had missed it back home.


	4. Chapter 4

A gust of wind came across the ship and Raelyn shivered, despite being wrapped up in Edmund's arms.

"You don't happen to have a change of clothes, do you? It's a bit cold in these wet clothes." She requested, looking over to Caspian.

"Oh of course! Follow me." He quickly hopped down the stairs, leading them to the lower decks. As the hall narrowed Edmund and Raelyn had to break off so neither was squished. She filed in behind Caspian, Edmund behind her and Lucy taking up the rear. As the ship rocked, the newcomers stumbled as they hadn't gotten used to the ship yet. Ed reached for Raelyn instinctively but wasn't quick enough as Caspian beat him to it. Raelyn chuckled as she stumbled into the older man.

"Guess I haven't gotten my sea legs yet. Good thing you were here or I would have faceplanted." She joked, pulling herself back up. Caspian helped her straighten back up, ruffling her hair.

"No worries, happy to be of assistance." He grinned pleasantly at her as he continued leading them through the ship. Edmund frowned as he watched them. However, when Raelyn turned back to him with a wide grin, he couldn't help but smile along with her. Her grin was contagious. Eventually they made it to a very elegant room, complete with decorative marbling along the walls. Caspian held the door open for the girls to go in first.

"This is normally my room but I think you two will find it suitable." He explained, watching as they walked around, eyeing the large bed and shelves of book. Raelyn quickly whirled around in concern.

"Oh we don't want to put you out." she quickly argued but Caspian held his hand up.

"Don't worry about it. I'm more than comfortable to sleep in the hammocks with the men." He assured her. Raelyn nodded.

"There are some spare clothing in this truck, so pick out what you like. However, I'm afraid we don't have any women's clothing." Caspian continued, walking over to open up the trunk, revealing a plethora of tunics and breeches.

"No problem. I don't think dresses or skirts would be a very good idea out on the sea anyway." Lucy joked. Edmund chuckled in amusement.

"I'll see you on deck in a bit." He whispered into Raelyn's temple with a small smile. Raelyn leant away so she could lift up and press a kiss to his lips.

"I'll see you then." She murmured quietly. Edmund grinned kissing her once more before sorting through the spare clothing and walking off with Caspian. Raelyn watched them leave with a soft smile. Turning back around she jumped, finding Lucy grinning at her.

"You two are so cute." She mused teasingly. Raelyn blushed heavily and quickly brushed past her in embarrassment.

"Let's just find something to wear, shall we?" Raelyn suggested, rooting through the chest in search of smaller clothes and boots. Lucy laughed, walking over to join in the search.


	5. Chapter 5

After the group had been dried and redressed, Caspian led them into the study below the ship deck. Opening the double doors, he led the way into the elaborately decorated room. The trio grinned, glancing around at the Narnian artifacts and symbols that littered the walls.

"Aslan." Lucy mused, eyeing a giant golden mold of the great lion. Edmund wandered toward some of the murals, looking over the scenes.

"Look Susan's bow and arrows." Lucy pointed out, spotting the familiar weapon handing on the wall.

"Lucy." Caspian caught her attention. She turned and smiled as he presented her with a box, containing her valuables.

"My healing cordial and dagger." She reached for them but paused looking to Caspian.

"Oh, may I?" she inquired.

"Of course, they're yours." Caspian insisted. Lucy smiled as she eagerly reached for the items and strapped them to her belt.

"Peter's sword." Raelyn commented, spotting it on the opposing wall. She tugged Edmund over to look at it with her.

"Looked after as promised." Caspian informed them. The king lifted it up and held it out to Ed.

"Hold it if you wish." Edmund instantly protested.

"No,no its yours. Peter gave it to you." Edmund insisted. Though his voice was nonchalant, his expression hardened ever so slightly. Raelyn frowned, eyeing him quietly but Caspian didn't notice as he flitted over to open a drawer.

"I did save this for you though." he mused. Caspian turned and held up Edmund's lost torch, tossing it to the boy. Edmund grinned in amusement.

"Thanks." He muttered, turning the light on and blinding himself for a moment, causing Raelyn to giggle at him.

...

Caspian led them over to a map of Narnia, explaining to them all that had happened in the past three years.

"Since you left, the giants in the north surrendered unconditionally. Then we defeated the Calaman armies of the great desert. There is peace across all of Narnia." he informed them proudly.

"Peace?" Edmund reiterated in surprise.

"In just three years." Caspian confirmed.

"And have you found yourself a queen in those three years?" Lucy asked with a smirk. Caspian smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"No. Not one to compare with your sister." He sighed.

"Don't' worry I'm sure you'll find someone soon." Raelyn told him sincerely. Caspian nodded at her thankfully.

"Hang on. If there are no wars to fight, and no ones in trouble….then why are we here?" Edmund inquired, redirecting the conversation.

"That's a good question, I've been asking myself the same thing." Caspian mused.

"So where are we sailing to?" Edmund asked, looking over the map with intrigue.

"Before I took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters." Caspian began him, turning to face the face sketches on wall behind him.

"The Seven Lords of Telmar." He gestured to them, allowing the others to walk around the table for a better look.

"They fled to the lone islands. No ones heard from them since." Caspian added, pointing out a single set of islands in the middle of the map.

"So, you think somethings happened to them?" Edmund assumed, looking over the sketches.

"Well if it has, it's my duty to find out." Caspian sighed.

"What's east of the lone islands?" Raelyn asked looking down at a very blank section to the right of the islands.

"Uncharted waters, full of things you could barely imagine. Tales of sea serpents and worse." Captain Drinian piped up, looking to them smugly. Lucy smiled, not sure if he was being serious or not. However, Raelyn's face paled.

"Sea serpents?" Edmund chuckled in disbelief, looking to the man.

"Alright Captain, that's enough of your tall tales." Caspian grinned. Drinian nodded and dismissed himself to return to the helm. Raelyn turned to Edmund, grabbing his arm to get his attention. He frowned worriedly at her pale and frightened expression.

"Are there really sea serpents?" she inquired quietly. Edmund tugged her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"I highly doubt it." He assured her. Raelyn whipped her head up in alarm.

"But what if there are?" she continued. Edmund smiled, leaning in to kiss her forehead tenderly.

"Then I'll protect you." He told her seriously. Raelyn smiled, hugging him tightly once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Raelyn ducked under the sword that had been aimed at her head. Swirling out of her crouched position she beamed proudly at Edmund, holding up her own weapon in defense.

"Well it would seem that those fencing lessons have paid off." Edmund mused, lunging for her once more. Raelyn lept out of the way and swung at his shoulder but it was quickly blocked. When they had been back in England, Raelyn had voiced her desire to learn more in swordsmanship so she was better prepared for Narnia when they returned. Just in case. Ed at first had protested, claiming that she didn't need to learn more if he was going to be there her but she wore him down with her persistence. That and pointing out the fact that his sisters knew how to fight. At the moment the duo were testing out her skills with an actual weapon since a fencing sword wasn't much for self-defense.

"It seems so." Raelyn beamed, huffing tiredly as she continued sparring with Edmund who wasn't even breaking a sweat. Her arm was becoming weaker as they mock battled on one of the upper decks. Thinking quickly she shot out a small beam of light, as she dodged another blow. Edmund's eyes widened in alarm and his reflexes were honed enough that he could duck out of the way. He looked over at her incredulously.

"Now that's just cheating." He accused with a grin. Raelyn bit her lip and shrugged.

"Surely I can't be the only magical being in Narnia." She defended weakly. Edmund rolled his eyes, lowing his weapon. This prodded Raelyn to slowly lower her own, but that was the idea. In an instant Edmund swooped in and trapped her in an embrace, Raelyn squealing in surprise before bursting into giggles.

"Who's the one cheating now?" she teased, turning her head to look up at him as her back was against his chest. Ed grinned crookedly at her before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

"I must say it seems that you have both improved over time." A new voice cut in. Edmund's carefree grin dropped ever so slightly as Caspian made his way over to them.

"Ed has been teaching me while we were away." Raelyn explained, leaning farther into the boy's embrace, holding onto the arms that were around her torso.

"Well Edmund seems to be a good teacher. Soon enough she'll be fending for herself." Caspian chuckled. This got Edmund thinking, and he wasn't sure he liked that idea.

"I'm afraid that might be a little while. I'm a lot better at magic right now." Raelyn blushed, looking down at her boots. Edmund released her and maneuvered in front of her.

"Speaking of which, you still have yet to show that off." He pointed out with a grin. Raelyn jerked her head back up in delight.

"Can I show you tonight? It might be best to do them when it's darker out." she pointed out with a grin. Edmund nodded, leaning in to kiss her.

"I would love it." Edmund assured quietly. Caspian smiled at the duo, pleased that they seemed to be getting on well. Thinking back to the spar they were having, another idea popped into his head.

"Ed?" he asked, getting the boy's attention.

"How would you feel about having a different sparring partner. Just to see if you've lost your touch?" Caspian suggested smugly. Edmund grinned at the challenge.

"I think I can keep up. Maybe I'm not the one who is losing my touch." He joked back. Caspian laughed, clapping him on the shoulder before heading down to the main deck. Raelyn quickly tugged Ed's hand before he darted off.

"Good luck, make sure you don't go easy on him." she grinned. Edmund subtly swelled with pride at her confidence in him.

"Don't worry I won't." he assured, pressing one last kiss to her lips before dashing off after Caspian. Raelyn jogged over and perched up on the railing near the helm, beside Captain Drinian as she waited for the duel to begin.


	7. Chapter 7

Aboard the ship, the crew circled the edges cheering boisterously as King Edmund and King Caspian dueled. The two parried down the aisle before coming to a more open area of the deck. Caspian swiped at Ed's head, who leant back to avoid it. The men grinned at one another. Ed made the first move, bring his sword down Caspian parried it as Edmund spun around before ducking under Caspian's foot. Ed swung his weapon low and the men cheered as Caspian lept over it. They swung fiercely at one another, swords clashing while they grinned. Ed made another swipe as his head which was dodged and the two took a step back, reanalyzing their next move.

They circled one another before Caspian lashed out, his sword connecting with Edmund's as they continued to parry. Ed held firm as Caspian attempted to spin the sword out of his grip. The two continued twisting their weapons until finally they slid in, their swords at one another's throats in a draw. Everyone cheered once again while the two panted for breath, grins never leaving their faces.

"You've grown stronger my friend" Caspian complimented, clasping the younger boy on the shoulder.

"It seems I have." Edmund smiled back.

"Alright back to work." Captain Drinian barked, jolting the crew back into action. He assisted Raelyn in hopping off the railing, smiling fondly as she girl dashed off towards the stairs. Edmund made his way over towards his sister leaning up against the railing where she was sitting on some barrels. Soon after Raelyn joined the two, holding out a cup of water which Edmund took gratefully. He gulped the water down, shifting so Raelyn could lean on the railing next to him.

"Edmund do you think that if we keep sailing to the end of the world that we'll just…tip off the edge?" Lucy asked him seriously.

"Don't worry Lu, we're a long way from there." Edmund assured her. Eustace shakily opened up the hatch, making his way over towards his cousins with a scowl on his face.

"I see you're still talking nonsense." He muttered, leaning against the railing with a pout.

"Feeling better?" Lucy inquired sincerely.

"Yes, no thanks to you. Thankfully I have an iron constitution." He retorted.

"At least your humor is still intact." Raelyn joked with a smirk. Ed and Lucy hid their grins while Eustace scowled in embarrassment.

"As effervescent as ever I see. Find your Sea legs yet?" Reepicheep asked, perching on some rigging beside Lucy.

"Never lost them. Simply getting over the shock of things." Eustace hastily defended. Edmund shot him an incredulous frown.

"Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence." Eustace added. Edmund spat out the water he had been drinking, prompting Raelyn to rub his back. She hid her face in his shoulder to bite back her laughter.

"I don't think he has a cute anything." Reep muttered in amusement.

"I'll have you know that as soon as we find civilization I'm contacting the British Console!" Eustace insisted.

"You really think we're still in that world? Eustace we arrived through a painting." Raelyn pointed out. This caused the boy to frown thoughtfully as she had a logical point.

"Must have been some of you lot's magical voodoo. I'll have you all arrested for kidnapping in addition to hexing me." Eustace snapped, refusing to believe anything but facts. As he stormed away he collided with a solid chest. Looking up he paled as Caspian stared at him in bemusement.

"Kidnapping is it? That's funny, I thought we saved your life." The man mused pointedly.

"You held me against my will!" he defended shrilly.

"Ha!" Reep scoffed.

"And I must say it was in unhygienic quarters. It was like…like a zoo down there." Eustace sputtered, turning to look at each of them as he pleaded his case.

"Eustace it's a boat not a hotel." Realyn countered. Eustace sputtered, mumbling out some lame excuses that everyone had begun to tune out.

"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Reep mused.

"He's just warming up." Edmund drawled in exasperation.

"Land Ho!" a voice from the crows nest above shouted. The alert caught everyone's attention as they moved to look over the side of the ship. In the distance they could just make out the shape of the islands on the horizon.


	8. Chapter 8

As the sun began to set, the ship had reached the island. Instantly everyone was a bit on edge; something wasn't right.

"The Lone Islands. The ports are narrow here but straight." Captain Drinian informed those with him at the front of the ship. Caspian, Edmund, Raeyln, and the minotaur, Tavros were standing next to the man to decide the next step.

"There's not a Narnian flag in sight." Caspian pointed out, handing the telescope back to Edmund.

"But the Lone Islands have always been Narnia's" Edmund frowned, taking time to look over the desolate houses down by the harbor.

"It seems suspicious." Drinian mused.

"I say we prepare a landing party." Edmund suggested. The captain hesitated, looking over at Caspian.

"Drinian?" Edmund asked of the man silence.

"Forgive me your majesty, but the chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship." Drinian pointed out, nodding towards Caspian. Edmund nodded, biting his lip but Raelyn noticed the way his posture had stiffened.

"Right." The boy agreed, a bit embarrassed.

"We'll use longboats. Drinian, pick some men to come ashore." Caspian ordered after a beat of uncomfortable silence.

"Give the orders Tavros." Caspian instructed before taking his leave to prepare. As the large minotaur bellowed out orders, everyone began rushing around the ship to prepare the landing party.

Within a few minutes some longboats were headed to shore. In the lead was Caspian and Edmund, now donning leather vests and weapons at their waists. Lucy, Raelyn, and Eustace sat at the rear of the boat. In the next boat was captain Drinian, sailing close behind them as the men rowed.

"Onward! The thrill of the unknown lies ahead." Reepicheep commented from beside Caspian as they maneuvered their boats up next to the docks. Everyone began piling out of the boats. Edmund quickly climbed out and offered assistance to Lucy and then Raelyn. Raelyn grinned at him, which he returned as the two began wandering around the empty dock.

"Couldn't this have waited till the morning?" Eustace asked, still seated in the boat. Raelyn turned and frowned at the boy's nervous expression.

"It's an adventure Eustace, why wait until tomorrow?" she inquired with a comforting grin. The boy was put at ease a little but still didn't want to leave the boat.

"There is no honor in turning away from adventure lad." Reepicheep added. Eustace grimaced and reluctantly began to stand.

"Listen." Lucy called. Everyone stood quietly. Only the sounds of the water could be heard.

"Where is everyone?" she inquired pointedly. Caspian and Edmund slowly began making their way up the stairs to reach the main level of the city, leading the way. Lucy and Raelyn began trailing after them, leaving Eustace with Reepicheep.

"Come on jelly legs." Reep prodded, reaching a small hand out to Eustace who was shakily trying to get out of the boat.

"I'm capable of doing it myself." The boy insisted stubbornly. Pushing himself up a little more Eustace stumbled, collapsing with a grunt onto the stairs. Reep sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes upward.

"And you're certain he's related by blood?" Caspian asked, staring at the boy skeptically from atop the staircase. The Pevensie siblings answered with strained expressions. Unfortunately, he was.

"Hard to believe isn't it. I was just as surprised as you were." Raelyn chuckled quietly. Caspian grinned down at her before continuing to next level of the city. As they reached the top, Caspian pulled off his crossbow while the others pulled out their own weapons; looking about warily. The courtyard was empty and eerily quiet as the landing party explored the nearby area. Raelyn scanned the buildings that seemed to have been abandoned for years, cracking and falling apart.

Suddenly the sound of a large bell rang out, startling the group at it disturbed the silence. Caspian held up his bow towards the tower where the sound originated while everyone else stood on edge, staring at the buildings around them. However, nothing other than a scattering of birds resulted from the noise. But they knew someone or something had to have caused a bell that size to move.

"Reepicheep, stay here with Drinian's men and we'll head on. If we don't come back by dawn, send a party." Caspian ordered as he, Edmund, Lucy and Raelyn began to make their way up another ramp leading into the heart of the small town.

...

The deeper the search group went, the darker and more sinister the air around them felt. All of the houses had been boarded up and looked close to collapsing. No one was outside and no light or sounds were coming from the inside of the houses. Eustace peeked into some of the broken window shutters as he trailed after the group.

"Yea, looks like nobody's in so do you think we should head back?" he suggested, jogging after the others nervously. The other four gave him a dry look before continuing on towards the main hall, where the bell tower was. Raelyn took another glance back at Eustace who was fidgeting, obviously frightened and unsure of what to do. She reached over, nudging Edmund's side. He frowned and looked back over at Eustace who was just standing there off to the side.

"Help him." Raelyn whispered pleadingly. Ed's face fell.

"What no." he protested just as quietly. She glowered at him.

"Ed, he is in a strange land in a creepy town with who knows what waiting to jump out at us. Come on, he's your cousin." She continued sternly, the two glancing over at Eustace who was watching them curiously but unable to hear what they were debating about.

"He's the devil, why should I do anything nice for him?" Edmund retorted incredulously.

"One of you has to be the bigger person, and I would expect…oh I don't know….Edmund the Just…to be the one to do it." She continued, looking at him pointedly as she used his title against him. Edmund groaned, knowing he didn't really have anything to counteract that point.

"For me?" Raelyn added with a small smile. At that his lips quirked just a little.

"Fine." he mumbled with a pout. With another sigh Edmund turned to face Eustace who was now watching with wide eyes.

"Do you want to come here and…guard…something?" he weakly suggested with a huff. Raelyn smiled in amusement at how badly he was taking this.

"Ah yes!" Eustace agreed, rushing over to join them. Caspian frowned as he watched, not believing that they were stuck with the boy who was clearly useless to them.

"Good idea cousin. Very uh….logical." Eustace commented as he reached the group, looking to Edmund patiently. The other four began to head inside but paused realizing Eustace had nothing to defend himself with. Caspian backtracked, pulling out a large dagger on his hip to offer the boy. Eustace blinked at it owlishly, unsure of what to do with the object.

"I've got it. Don't worry!" Eustace quickly assured them, whipping around to stare at the empty courtyard fearfully. The others stared at him blankly, obviously worried but at least he was out of the way and being useful. Or so they would hope. Just before she stepped inside after the others, Raelyn swiftly moved over to the boy. She reached over and readjusted his handle on the weapon so it was the correct form. Eustace blushed in embarrassment but nodded in thanks, not wanting to lash out at the only one willing to help him. Raelyn smiled at him before joining the others, Edmund taking her hand in his own with a fond grin.


	9. Chapter 9

Inside, the building was dark making it hard for them to maneuver as most of the windows had been boarded up and it was nearing sunset. Edmund reached back for his torch but found it missing as he had left it back on the ship.

"You have anything to make it a bit brighter in here?" Ed turned to Raelyn with a curious grin.

"Actually, I do have one thing that I've been dying to try." She admitted sheepishly. The other three watched curiously as Raelyn closed her eyes, taking a breath. Slowly a light started to grow, starting from her center and reaching making its way to the outside of her skin, emitting a warm glow that lit up the area around them. She peeked one eye open, glancing down and grinning broadly.

"I did it!" she gasped excitedly. Ed laughed in surprised, smiling widely at her. He reached out to grab her hand but hesitated.

"Can I…" he asked cautiously.

"Oh yea, totally safe." Raelyn assured reaching out and taking his hand in hers before leading the way. Caspian and Lucy shrugged at one another before following, getting back to business. The group continued farther into the room, each of them walking in with their weapons at the ready. The building was as worn down as the rest of the town seemed to be, with plenty of lanterns around but the only light was streaming in from the holes in the roof and from Raelyn.

"I'm ready to go when you are." Eustace called to them nervously from outside, breaking the silence. They all ignored the comment and continued forward, looking for some type of indicator as to what had happened. In the center of the large room was a pillar with a large book open on top of it. Edmund walked over, using the light from Raelyn to read it.

"Who are all these people?" Lucy stared at the rows of names and numbers.

"Why have they all been crossed out?" Edmund added.

"It looks like some kind of…fee." Raelyn realized, pointing out the numbers next to each of the names in the book. Suddenly she got the unsettling feeling of being watched. Some of these dates had been fairly recent so someone must be close by. Raelyn looked up and around worriedly, taking advantage of her 'night vision'.

"Slave traitors." Caspian whispered. Raelyn gasped as she spotted a figure on the ropes, raising a hand to shoot out a ball of light, knocking the man off the rope. Once the first had been exposed a series of bells started to ring as the rest of the men slid down the other ropes with battle cries. Edmund and Lucy began battling with their swords while Caspian and Raelyn protected their backs, picking off men with a crossbow and bursts of energy. Once all the men had reached the ground, Caspian dropped his bow and whipped out his sword to join the fight. Raelyn tried to keep up her energy blasts, causing her own glow to dim a bit as her concentration dropped. Turning around she yelped as a sword came down towards her face rapidly. She quickly ducked out of the way, deciding it would be best to now use her sword. The group continued fighting off the thugs until a girlish shriek cut through the room, causing everyone to freeze in place and stare at the doorway.

Eustace stood there with a knife to his neck, shaking in terror. The man behind him shut the door, leading the boy forward into the hall.

"Unless you wanna hear this one squeal like a girl again, I suggest you drop your weapons." The man told the group pointedly.

"Like a girl?" Eustace huffed but was quickly silenced as his captor tightened his hold.

"Now!" he insisted. Lucy was the first to drop her sword soon followed by Caspian and Raelyn.

"Eustace." Edmund growled accusingly as he was forced to drop his weapon.

"Put them in irons." The man ordered. The others in the room quickly moved to restrain the group. Raelyn struggled, using her hands to burn the men trying to restrain her as she and the others fought against their captors.

"Get your hands off me!" Lucy fought back with a growl. The man holding Eustace put away the knife, instead holding the boy by the ear which seemed to be quite as effective.

"Let's take these two to market." The man gestured to Eustace and Lucy, taking notice that the other three were being much more difficult.

"Send those three to the dungeons. But put the girl up for special auction in the morning. She will be quite valuable." The man sneered, looking over at Raelyn intently. Edmund's eyes widened in alarm as he looked between his sister and his girlfriend. A few other men came over to help restrain Raelyn who began to fight even more, the men yelping in pain as she continued to strike at them.

"Don't touch me!" she snarled.

"Listen to me you insolent fool. I am your king!" Caspian shouted, fighting against the men holding him. Edmund fought against his own captors trying to reach Raelyn.

"Get her restrained!" the leader shouted once more seeing as they were still struggling with the small redhead. One of the thugs came up behind her and struck her across the back of her head with the hilt of a dagger, knocking her old cold. She fell limp into the man's arms and he hoisted her over his shoulder roughly. Edmund snarled viscously and leapt towards the group, only to be pulled back once more.

"You're going to pay for that." He threatened, eyes burning with fury.

"Actually, someone else is going to pay. For all of you." A new voice chimed in, as the clear leader of the traders stepped into the light. From there the men began to drag Lucy and Eustace outside with the other slaves on the wall while Edmund, Raelyn and Caspian were dragged in the opposite direction. Lucy and Edmund shouted frantically for on another as they were taken away.

Edmund and Caspian protested the whole way to the dungeons. Once they had reached the cavernous room, the traders threw the two of them inside. After hitting the group Edmund quickly whipped around to catch Raelyn just as she was being dumped inside unceremoniously.

"Hey watch it!" he snapped, easing down to the floor with the unconscious girl in his arms. Caspian quickly headed over towards them, checking her head for any cuts.

"Looks like it's just a bump. I don't feel any blood." He assured, taking an extra moment to look over her face for anything else. Edmund nodded, nibbling on his lip worriedly. His sister was outside stuck with the slaves and Eustace while they were stuck in here and who knows what will happen in the morning. Seeing that Edmund wasn't going anywhere, Caspian rushed over to the small window on the opposite wall.

"Can you see anything?" Ed asked, glancing back while cradling Raelyn's head against his shoulder.

"No, it's too dark out." Caspian sighed stepping down from the ledge.

"There's nothing much we can do right now. We will have to wait it out until the morning. Reepicheep and the others will be back for us." He suggested, settling in as best he could on the hard stone floor. Ed nodded mutely, slowly shifting himself to get more comfortable. Well as comfortable as one could on a dirty cave floor. He gently set Raelyn next to him, making sure she wouldn't wake up with any cricks in her neck before attempting to drift off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Edmund groaned as he woke up to the sound of crashing. Another softer grunt of surprise caught his attention and he blinked his eyes open to stare down at Raelyn who was clutching her head sleepily. He reached up to grasp her hand in concern. At the contact she blinked her eyes open to look up at him with a frown.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked softly, contradicting the loud clanging that was going on. Raelyn winced rubbing her head tenderly.

"I think so, just a bit of a headache." She grinned weakly. Edmund nodded as that would be expected when you were hit on the back of the head.

"I'm sorry." He told her with a sad frown, using his thumb to gently rub her temples. She frowned at hs pained expression.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do it." She pointed out. Edmund sighed nuzzling his nose with hers.

"Maybe so but I couldn't stop it." He pouted. Raelyn stared at him intently, taking note that he really was putting all this guilt on himself for no reason.

"Ed, you can't protect me from everything. It's fine I promise, you're here taking care of me now and that's what matters." She informed him grabbing his hand from the side of her face and kissing the back of it. Ed's lips quirked up in affection. Another loud clang startled them out of their moment and the duo stiffly shifted to look over at the gate. They watched for a moment as Caspian repeatedly flung himself against the metal gate with no results.

"You're just going to hurt yourself if you keep that up." Raelyn piped up, her voice still rough from waking up. Caspian paused his endeavor, glancing over at the now awake duo.

"Sorry for waking you so abruptly. You alright?" the older man inquired, directing his question at the both of them.

"Yea." Ed grunted as he slowly stood up, Raelyn following his lead. Caspian nodded before kicking the door once again, getting an exasperated sigh from Raelyn.

"It's hopeless." A small voice called from a corner of the room. The three of them turned to look for the source but the voice seemed to come from deep in the shadows of the dark room.

"You'll never get out." the mystery voice added.

"Who's there?" Edmund asked, as the two boys stalked closer with Raelyn behind them.

"Nobody, just a voice in my head." The voice sighed. Caspian leaned in closer, jumping a little as a small bearded old man popped his head into the light. The man frowned up at Caspian intently.

"Lord Bern." Caspian breathed, recognizing the man from one of his sketches. The lord's eyes widened in surprise.

"Perhaps once. But I am no longer deserving of that title." Bern muttered.

"Is he one of the seven?" Edmund inquired eyeing the man. Raelyn made her way closer to his side, Edmund reflexively wrapping his arm around her. Caspian nodded in confirmation, turning back to the man. He walked over closer, crouching down beside him. Once Caspian's face was fully in the light lord Bern's eyes shone with recognition.

"Your face. You remind me of a king I once loved long ago." He whispered in surprise.

"That man was my father." Caspian told him. Bern gasped.

"Oh my lord, please forgive me." The old man quickly shifted to bow in reverence. Caspian quickly reached out, stopping him from the action.

"No, please." He gently grabbed the man, helping him to stand. Outside, the sounds of wails and shouts caught Raelyn's attention. Edmund followed as she quickly made her way over to the small window in the corner of the cell. The two of them peered out the barred window at the scene below them.

They watched as a man and a small girl chased after a wagon full of people, frantically shouting for the woman by the edge. The man who was apparently the woman's husband tried to fight his way to his wife but the traders quickly subdued him, throwing him aside as the wagon continued onward. Along the wall Edmund spotted Lucy and Eustace chained beside a number of other slaves who looked at the ground in sorrow as the family was torn apart in front of them.

Caspian came to join them at the window just as the people were being loaded onto boats, shouting in fright the whole time as they protested.

"What's happening to them?" Raelyn asked, her eyes a bit glassy from the scene unfolding in front of her. She glanced back at the old lord who smiled at her sympathetically, feeling for the obviously tenderhearted girl.

"Keep watching" was all he said. Swallowing nervously she turned to look back out the window, grasping Edmund's hand for comfort. The boat was pushed out into the water, seeming to sail itself. Almost instantly the clouds began to turn dark, indicating a violent storm but there was no rain. As the shadow of the clouds neared the boat, a green mist came up from the water, racing towards the boats. Raelyn gasped in pain and clutched at her chest in surprise. Edmund and Caspian turned to her worriedly, Edmund reaching out to pull her tighter against him.

"Ray?" he asked curiously. His frown deepened as Raelyn whimpered and a couple of tears leaked out.

"That…the mist…it hurts….so dark and…evil." She whispered tearfully, frightened by the strong feelings the green mist seemed to bring out in her. It was like her body adamantly rejected being in the presence of the smoke. The boys shared a worried look with one another. Now wasn't the time but they knew this was something they had to sort out later once everyone was safe. Once the initial shock had worn off, Raelyn tentatively looked back out the window despite the lingering nausea that the mist left her with.

...

The green mist quickly engulfed the boat, making all that were inside disappear with a series of frightened screams. As quickly as it came, the mist disappeared along with the storm clouds. Raelyn sagged with relief, Edmund tightly holding her up, as the mist retreated completely.

"What happened?" Caspian asked.

"It's a sacrifice." Lord Bern explained to them. The group turned to face the man fully.

"Where do they go?" Raelyn asked. If the sight of the mist left her with such awful feelings then she couldn't imagine what the source of that mist would be like. The old man shook his head.

"No one knows." He told them hollowly. Caspian walked down towards the aging man. Edmund and Raelyn following after, once he was sure that she could hold herself up. Her reaction to the mist had scared him and the feeling of helplessness on his end made it even worse.

"The mist was first seen in the East. Reports of fishermen and sailors, disappearing out at sea. We lords made a pact. To find the source of the mist and destroy it. They each set sail. But none came back." Lord Bern told them. They all stood there in silence for a moment.

"You see if they don't sell you to the slave trader. You're likely to be fed to the mist." Bern elaborated in their silence.

"We have to find Lucy and get out of here, before it's too late." Edmund commented worriedly. If Lucy was out for sale and the traders were coming back for Raelyn, he had to get them off this island as soon as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it's been so long, life has been busy but I no worries I have not dropped this story. Lots planned for Raelyn and Ed. This chapter is a bit shorter but it's more of a filler until I can get a consistent update going.**

 **...**

The group looked up suddenly as the dungeon door was flung open. The traders roughly entered, manhandling everyone inside. In retaliation Raelyn's hands began forming a ball of light but before she could release it one of the men roughly grabbed Edmund, holding a dagger to his neck.

"Don't even think about it princess. Any move with your twinkly light tricks and the boy gets it." Edmund's eye twitched at the term 'boy' but didn't move. He minutely nodded at her, signaling that he was fine and to listen. Reluctantly she dropped her hands, the lights fizzing out as she relented with a glare. The traders aggressively put each of them in irons and dragged them outside, holding daggers tightly behind Caspian and Edmund to keep the redhead in line. As they made their way across the walkway on the wall, a loud crowd down in the courtyard caught their attention.

Eustace was placed onto the slave block, panting and glancing around like a scared animal. Silence resounded as the buyers glanced at one another. Obviously, no one was interested in this one.

"Come on someone make a bid." The seller announced, looking around for any takers. The group shook their heads.

"I'll take them off your hands." A familiar voice chimed in. Caspian glanced down into the courtyard, gaining the attention of Edmund and Raelyn who also recognized it. Raelyn grinned, ducking her head so not to be noticed.

"I'll take them all off your hands." Reepicheep announced as Drinian pushed off his hood to reveal the mouse perched on his shoulder. On this signal all the other sailors from the Dawn Treader took off their own cloaks and with a battle cry, began their rescue mission. The traders began to flee as the men among them whipped out their swords and began attacking.

At the sound of havoc below, the captors on the wall ran over to look. Once they were distracted Caspian swung around and with his chained hands, and clocked the man behind him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Edmund quickly followed, ramming the men into the wall and even helping Caspian push some overboard. Raelyn joined in as best she could, dodging the hands of her own captor and tripping him so that he went over the wall along with the others. All around them the slaves of the island began to peek out of their houses, still timid but anxiously watching what was going on outside. Edmund quickly used his chains to block the sword as others began to swarm them up on the wall. Meanwhile Raelyn had slipped away and was over in the corner, working on melting her hand cuffs. Edmund took notice of what she was doing and maneuvered over to stand in front of her.

Down below Reepicheep quickly unlocked Lucy's bonds.

"Thanks Reep, I knew you'd come." She grinned, dropping the chains to the ground.

"Your highness." The mouse bowed before attacking the leader who was trying to save his money. Lucy quickly picked up a discarded book and joined in the fight down in the courtyard, using the heavy devise to swinging it across the men's faces.

Up above Edmund had wrapped his chains around the man's neck.

"Get the keys." He ordered, glancing back at Raelyn who had finally freed herself. She quickly rushed over and snatched the keys around the choking man's belt. Ed quickly choked out the man and she quickly unlocked his bonds.

"Caspian!" She called from a level above. Caspian quickly downed the last captor before looking up her direction and holding his hands out to catch the keys she had tossed down to him. Now seeing that the slave traders were losing, the oppressed people of the island began coming out of hiding, more than willing to add to the beat down of their captors. Finding a faster way down than the stairs, Caspian swung on a nearby rope, kicking down a man through and out a window. He quickly followed, jumping and landing on the roof of a nearby building before punching the man. Glancing at one another Edmund and Raelyn quickly followed after him, once they had freed Lord Bern. After jumping through the opening Edmund scaled down the terrace and held his arms out for Raelyn who instantly jumped down towards him. He caught her and ducked as she threw out her hand behind him, blasting a man who was trying to approach them. Edmund grinned and briefly kissed her lips before helping to finish off the rest of the slave traders.


	12. Chapter 12

**Bit of a filler again but more action will be in the coming chapters. Enjoy**

...

The traders had been defeated and the sailors were cheered for by hundreds of freed people as they walked down the streets towards their ship.

"Your majesty?" a man rushed out towards Caspian as he passed. Drinian quickly intercepted the man, unsure as to whether or not he was a threat. Ed quickly tugged Raelyn behind him on instinct.

"Your majesty my wife was taken just this morning." The man begged even as a little girl ran up behind him frantically.

"It's alright Drinian." Caspian assured his captain. The man quickly rushed over to Caspian who was intently listening to the man, who he recognized from when they were watching earlier. The little girl quickly latched onto her father's arm. As she peeked out shyly from behind her father she locked eyes with Raelyn who grinned at her kindly.

"I beg you to take me with you." Her father continued.

"I want to come." The little girl added.

"No Gael stay with your aunt." Her father gently brushed her aside, into the arms of the woman behind them.

"I'm a fine sailor, been on the seas my whole life." The man continued as they walked on.

"Of course, you can." Raelyn quickly piped up. Caspian turned back to her in bemusement at how quickly she answered for him. Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip.

"I mean…if Caspian agrees." She sheepishly amended. Caspian grinned, turning back to the man.

"Of course, you must." He answered gently, patting the man on the shoulder as they continued on. The man beamed.

"Thank you." He sighed in relief, but it was short lived as Gael latched onto him frantically.

"Daddy." She teared up, knowing that her father was leaving.

"Have I ever not come back?" he knelt down, looking at her seriously. They both teared and embraced one another, before he let go to follow after the rest of the crew. Raelyn frowned sadly but knew it was the better option. Edmund, picking up on her mood, tugged her closer to him as they walked; offering her some comfort.

...

Down by the piers Lord Bern quickly met up with the crew.

"My king!" he called getting their attention as they made it to the main dock area. Caspian, Lucy, Raelyn and Edmund approached the man who was holding up a very rusted and yellowed object.

"This was given to me by your father. I hid it safely in a cave all these years." Lord Bern explained.

"That's an old Narnian sword." Edmund pointed out as he peered at it. Raelyn leaned forward to get a closer look at it.

"It's from your golden age." Bern nodded at him.

"There are seven such swords, a gift from Aslan to protect Narnia. Your father entrusted them to us. Here take it." Lord Bern held the sword out towards Caspian.

"And may it protect you." He added as Caspian gently reached for the crusted sword. The crowd cheered as Caspian took it.

"Thank you, my lord and we shall find your lost citizens." Caspian nodded to the man before leading the crew off towards the boats. Caspian glanced over at Edmund thoughtfully.

"Edmund." He called, getting the boys attention. Without a small smile he handed the old sword to him by the hilt. Edmund gladly took it and raised it up to get a better look at it, grinning.

"It's beautiful. Though it could do with some cleaning up." Raelyn mused, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What would I do without your genius?" Ed asked sarcastically, getting her to giggle.

"Probably be very lost." she mused teasingly. Edmund chuckled before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her towards the boat once more.

...

 **Dear Diary,**

 **There's been an extraordinary turn of events. I've been abducted by cousins and Edmund's girl, as well as being set adrift in uncharted waters in some ridiculous looking boat. What's worse is I've got to share my courters with an obnoxious looking mouse thing. And I thought bunking with my cousin was bad enough.**

Eustace was crouched up among some crates on deck as he lamented away to his diary, eyeing everyone on deck with him as he wrote.

 **So far on my trip everyone I've met suffers from the most florid delusions. Chasing green mists and looking for lost lords.**

Eustace peeks over some boxes to watch the men and creatures work with the ropes. Up on the deck Caspian is conferring with Drinian.

 **I can only assume that this is the result of a poor diet. Or they're all just barking mad.**

In another corner of the ship, Lucy works on mending clothing that had been damaged during the fights on the island.

 **Cousin Edmund is no exception. He spends every second rubbing that tin sword of his like it's some magic lantern. The poor fool clearly needs a hobby.**

Edmund was busy chipping away at the rock growth on the sword, every few moments lifting it up and marveling at it. Raelyn lightly touched the clean steel and marveled at how majestic it looked with just the first bit of it showing, Reepicheep joining in.

"It's going to be magnificent. Do they come in a smaller size?" he asked with a chuckle.

 **One thing I have yet to figure out is Edmund's girlfriend Raelyn. She has been the only one giving any ounce of normalcy throughout this whole debacle. Yet she has suddenly gained this ability to manipulate light. Perhaps the lack of hygiene and adequate nutrients is getting to me too. However I have yet to succumb to the immense depravity of the crews minds as I am still the only one that finds it odd. Even the rat only has amazement for her new gifts.**

Eustace frowns suspiciously as Raelyn works on manipulating balls of light in her hand, each one emitting a different color before fading out. Reepicheep clapped and gave the girl praise, causing her to blush. Edmund was just as pleased with her progress, tugging her into his lap and kissing her temple.

"Peeving marmot, he's even more delusional than my cousin." Eustace muttered as he watched them sourly. A seagull landed next to him as he was furiously writing in his journal.

"In England we have mousetraps for that sort of thing." He muttered to the bird. Eustace stared at it for a moment thoughtfully.

"Speaking of food, you don't know where I can get any do you?" he asked it.

"Uh were you just talking to that bird?" Tavros asked from the deck just above him.

"Well I just naturally assumed he could.." Eustace's sputtering was cut of by guffaws of laughter from the minotaur.

"He's talking to birds!" he cackled with his shipmate.

"He's mad as a loon that one." His companion joined in. Eustace flamed with embarrassment and quickly shooed the bird away. As he went right back to journaling in effort to hide his pink cheeks, a set of footsteps caught his attention. Looking up he spotted Raelyn who smiled before perching on the box next to him.

"What do you want?" Eustace spat defensively. He softened as she continued to smile down sympathetically at him.

"Don't worry about the whole bird thing. It takes a bit to get used to Narnia and your experience so far hasn't been the best." She gently consoled him.

"There's nothing to get used to, everyone is delusional." He retorted. Raelyn rose a brow, biting her cheek to keep from laughing.

"Perhaps to you. But if everyone else believes all this and you're the only one who doesn't… what does that tell you?" she suggested pointedly. Eustace stared at her, actually considering her point and having no strong argument against it. Knowing she had him thinking, Raelyn shrugged before standing to leave.

"Just something to think about." She hummed before walking back over to join Edmund.


	13. Chapter 13

As the day wore on Edmund continued working away at the sword while Raelyn was playing with her powers. Ed looked over as she continued making light displays in her hands, causing some to take shape. He chuckled when she flinched as she accidentally set one off like a firework. Raelyn glared but grinned, burying her head into his shoulder in embarrassment.

"I guess I don't have such a great handle on my powers all the time." She muttered sheepishly. Ed laughed again, setting down his sword to wrap an arm around her.

"It's alright. No one is perfect. Besides it's not like I can do anything like that." He pointed out sweetly. Raelyn lifted her head to grin at him. Distractedly she looked down at the sword in his hand, reaching out to stroke the smooth metal that was slowly becoming exposed.

"Is this like the swords you used to use?" she quietly inquired, still running her fingers over the cool metal. Edmund shifted closer to her and glanced down at the weapon.

"I'm not sure. The craftsmanship is similar but there's something different about it. Once I get down to the handle design I'll have a better idea." he explained. Raelyn nodded and grinned when she felt Ed press a chaste kiss to her temple. Lifting her eyes and scanning the deck she noticed Eustace making his way towards the stairways to the lower deck. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him glance around anxiously before disappearing. Edmund followed her line of sight and huffed before. The sound of little feet caught her attention and Raelyn tilted her head up to spot Reepicheep perching next to her, also eyeing the boy.

"Reep if you wouldn't mind….could you check on Eustace for me?" she requested. The mouse nodded with a grin, touched by her concern to the boy that no one seemed to be fond of.

"Of course, your Grace." He nodded before bounding off down below. Edmund frowned and looked back down at his girlfriend curiously.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked. Raelyn lifted up and swiveled around to face him properly.

"Why don't you care?" Edmund groaned dramatically and set the sword down to the side so he could pull himself up. Reaching for the redhead's hands he carefully lifted her onto her feet as well.

"He's annoying and a pain in the arse. Eustace is a waste of time, all he is going to do it whine and complain. It's best to just ignore him." he defended, folding his arms across his chest. Raelyn pursed her lips.

"Edmund he's your cousin and he's terrified." She countered. Edmund's eyes rose skyward.

"Terrified?" he asked, not convinced.

"Of course he is! He's in a totally bizarre and strange land with people and creatures capable of things you only read in story books. Complaining and trying to rationalize all this is his only way of coping and putting on a brave face." Raelyn elaborated for him, placing her hands on his arms imploringly. Edmund's stance softened as he looked down at his boots.

"Can you at least try to nice to him?" she whispered, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek. Edmund smirked and turned his eyes towards her.

"Fine. But only for you." He finally agreed. Raelyn grinned and lifted up towards his face once more. However, they were interrupted by a thud and the sound out someone scrambling around. Their eyes shooting towards the stairwell the duo spotted Eustace frantically making his way onto the deck.

...

"Watch it." Tavros muttered. Eustace muttered a quick apology before darting away, looking over his shoulder for any sign of the mouse.

"Trying to run away? We're on a boat you know." Reepicheep pointed out in amusement as he swung on a rope, facing Eustace who froze.

"Look can't we just talk about this?" the boy pleaded.

"That was for stealing." Reep sliced a whole in the boy's shirt.

"That was for lying." He stabbed the orange on the edge of his rapier.

"And that is for good measure." He taunted, striking Eustace with the orange. The crew watched as Eustace glared, his hand holding the knife fidgeting. Edmund Raelyn shared an interested glance before turning their attention back to the scene. Reepicheep laughed in delight as Eustace fruitlessly swung the large knife at him. Flipping to the other side of the boy Reep flung the orange towards Captain Drinian who caught it with a grin.

"Now it looks like we have ourselves a duel." Reep grinned, readying himself. The crew gathered around the edges of the boat to watch the event unfold.

"Now take your best shot." Reep taunted. Eustace began stabbing and swiping at the mouse randomly, all the while Reep continued to taunt the boy to egg him on.

"Stop flapping your wings like a drunken pelican. Poise!" Reep instructed, displaying the proper stance. Eustace nervously looked around at the growing crowd. He locked eyes with Raelyn who grinned and nodded in encouragement. Steeling himself Eustace attempted to mimic the mouse's posture.

"Keep your blade up." Eustace did so before lunging forward and missing. Reep continued to leap across the ship as Eustace chased and swiped.

"Lunge with your foot. Not your left, your right." Reep instructed, smacking the boy in the respective legs.

"Be nimble! It's a dance boy, a dance." He continued to instruct. This time Eustace readied his stance and began stabbing at Reep with much more control.

"That's right, good!" the mouse praised as he continued to dodge. However, he yelped as he lost his balance on the rail and slipped off the side towards the water. Eustace lunged to look over the side, hoping to spot the mouse in the water below. Unknown to him, Reep was just above on the rigging. Tapping his opposing shoulder, he got Eustace to turn before kicking him in the back and causing the boy to fall into some baskets. Raelyn grinned.

"Thank you Reep. Whether or not he acknowledges it, he needed that." She beamed; Reep nodding humbly with a small smile.

"Look." Lucy called out to the rest of the boat. Everyone turned and watched as the small girl from the island crawled out of the basket that had been knocked over.

"Gael?" her father asked incredulously.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion. However, his demeanor softened as he watched his daughter's lip quiver. With quick strides he made his way over to pull the girl into his arms. Captain Drinian made his way towards the duo, everyone watching silently. Raelyn grabbed Edmund's hand and looked up at him nervously, knowing the consequences for stowaways. Ed gripped her hands and shot her a comforting grin.

"Looks like we have an extra crewmember." Drinian mused. With a grin he held out the orange to the girl who took it gently, the tension breaking away.

"Welcome aboard." Lucy grinned at the girl.

"Your majesties." Gael curtsied as she looked between Lucy and Raelyn who made her way over to stand beside her.

"Call me Lucy, and this is Raelyn." Lucy dismissed the formality with a grin.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Raelyn suggested, holding a hand out to the girl who took it timidly. As they headed towards the rooms down below, Raelyn caught sight of Eustace talking with Reepicheep. She grinned as a reluctant smile appeared on Eustace's face. Even though he quickly banished the emotion, Raelyn knew it was a step in the right direction for the boy. Now if only she could get his stubborn cousin on board to help.


	14. Chapter 14

The ship made its way towards a beautiful lush island, sailing into its natural cove. Caspian was on the upper deck with Drinian and Edmund, looking through the telescope.

"It looks uninhabited. But if the lords headed east they would have stopped here." Caspian told them.

"Could be a trap." Drinian pointed out.

"Or it could hold some answers. Caspian?" Edmund countered, turning to the man in charge.

"We'll spend the night on shore and scour the island in the morning." Caspian told them after a moment of thought.

...

As the sun began to set the crew was busy setting up fires and sleeping rolls in adequate places along the beach. Eustace was grumbling as usual but Reepicheep managed to corral him into searching for firewood, allowing everyone to be spared some peace from the complaining. Soon enough everyone had been fed and were settling down for the night. As Raelyn made her way across camp she noticed that Gael was sitting by the water. The redhead headed in that direction and her heart went out to the younger girl as she could now hear the sniffles.

"Everything alright Gael?" the little brunette jumped and quickly wiped away her tears, putting on a brave front.

"Yes, Your Maj…"

"Ah" Gael blushed.

"I mean Raelyn." Raelyn nodded approvingly and she walked over to sit next to her on the beach. The two sat in silence for a moment, Raelyn watching the younger girl out of the corner of her eyes.

"So, can't sleep?" she ventured, not wanting to press too much as the girl was clearly overwhelmed with her whole new situation. Gael shrugged.

"Anything I can do to help?" Raelyn asked gently. Gael sniffled.

"My mom used to sing me to sleep." She whispered tearily. Raelyn now understood the dilemma.

"Would it make you feel better I had a go at it?" Gael's eyes widened in surprise.

"You would do that?" Raelyn grinned warmly.

"Of course I would." She told Gael, standing up. Raelyn held out a hand to her, which Gael took and let herself be led towards her sleeping mat by Lucy. Gael situated herself on the ground, allowing Raelyn to slide down beside her.

"Comfortable?" Raelyn asked her. Gael nodded quietly, her eyes watching the redhead intently.

...

 _'Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes_

 _And save these questions for another day_

 _I think you know what I've been asking me_

 _I think you know what I've been trying to say_

 _I promise I would never leave you, and you should always know_

 _I never will be far away…'_

...

As Raelyn's soft voice rang out, she gently stroked Gael's hair. She continued singing softly until she was sure that Gael's breathing had slowed to a steady pace, indicating she was asleep. With a smile Raelyn stood, making sure she didn't disturb her. As she turned to walk away she was surprised to see Edmund standing by one of the nearby rocks, grinning fondly at her. Raelyn blushed. He silently held a hand out for her and she took it, following him to their sleeping spot nearby.

"That was beautiful. How come I have never heard you sing?" he whispered. Raelyn shrugged with a content smile.

"It just never came up. Singing was always a family thing and since my brothers have been away I just never think about it." She explained to him. Edmund nodded thoughtfully, tugging her closer.

"Well I think you should sing more often. I know I would love to hear more." He admitted. Raelyn grinned and leaned up to kiss him soundly. Edmund was the first to lie down on the sleeping rolls, opening his arms for her to snuggle into. Raelyn eagerly moved closer to his warmth, using his arm as a pillow. She smiled sleepily as Ed pressed a tender kiss behind her ear.

"Goodnight Ray."

"Goodnight Ed."

...

Just before daylight everyone was camped out and sleeping along the beach when large single footprints made their way through the camp. Raelyn slowly slipped into consciousness, registering the sound of movement across the sand. She slowly cracked her eyes opened, before they flew open in surprise as she spotted the giant footprints in front of her.

"It seems they've brought a pig." An invisible voice whispered, standing by Eustace who was snoring loudly. Raelyn's eyes shot in that direction, but she frowned when no one was there. She lowered her eyelids to make it seem like she was sleeping but wanting to keep an eye….or ear….out for what was happening.

"This one, its female." Another voice pointed out by Lucy.

"So is this one." A voice by Gael chimed in.

"This one reads….lets take her." they decided. In an instantly Lucy was lifted into the air by the invisible force. Raelyn snapped her head up and waited for a second, making sure they were all gone. She looked over at Ed who was dead to the world. Raelyn bit her lip. She could wake up everyone or go ahead after Lucy alone. With confliction she went with the faster option; going alone. Shifting out from Edmund's hold she reached for her sword and took off in the direction of the footprints.

Trailing behind, Raelyn watched as Lucy and the mystery creatures made their way through the thick forest until they reached a field of hedge work, much like a fancy garden. In an open spot Lucy was dropped to the ground roughly. She quickly whipped out her dagger, jumping to her feet and trying to spot anything to attack. The weapon was instantly smacked away from her and when she attempted to reach for it she was pushed away. Lucy scrambled backwards, trying desperately to find where the voices were coming from.

"There is no escaping"

"Oh that was scary yea." Lucy frowned as the many voices began addressing her. Before she could speak up Raelyn jumped from the trees, swinging in the direction of the voice. She could hear a yelp of pain before the redhead was pushed off the creature, over towards Lucy.

"Well so much for that plan." Raelyn chuckled nervously. Lucy scrambled over towards her.

"Ray what are you doing?"

"Well I couldn't just let you go alone." Raelyn defended with a shrug. Lucy grinned briefly before turning back in the direction of the voices.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We are invisible beasts."

"Yea!"

"If you could see us you would be really intimidated."

"Oh but you forgot to mention that we are very large." Lucy continued to turn her head as multiple creatures talked around her. Raelyn frowned. Staring in the direction of the voices she focused her energy into her eyes, giving them an eerie glow. Looking hard she could just make out a blurry silhouette of the creatures by mapping out the light bending around them, which was what made them invisible. It was like they were cloaked.

"You don't look very scary." She murmured in confusion. Shouts of protest and fear began as everyone took notice of her glowing eyes.

"Witchcraft! Leave us alone, we don't want anything to do with you wizards!" a creature yelped in fear. Without notice a patch of dirt was thrown towards her face. Lucy gasped and reached towards Raelyn as the girl flailed in pain, the dirt having gone into her eyes.

"Ow! I wasn't trying to hurt you I promise." She protested, wiping the dirt at her face. Lucy helped wipe away the debris from her eye area and held onto her as Raelyn blinked. A couple tears escaped as she was trying to clear out the dirt.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked, holding Raelyn protectively as she was temporarily blinded.

"You, you'll do what we ask." The head creature insisted, followed my multiple agreements. Lucy stood, glaring at the voice's origin.

"Or what?" she asked, her voice hard. After the stunt they just pulled she didn't want to help them at all.

"Or death." Was the answer. Lucy flinched nervously as many chants of 'death' began around her. She could see the puffs of air as the cold morning air revealed their positions and number. Raelyn let out a noise of protest at the sound of that. She continued blinking, her vision clearing up somewhat.

"Well we wouldn't be much use to you dead, now would I?" she asked pointedly, looking around in a circle slowly.

"Uh….I hadn't thought of that." The voice stuttered. Lucy smirked.

"Alright, then we'll just kill your friends." A new voice suggested, causing her expression to waver. Raelyn grabbed her hand gently.

"We might as well." She pointed out softly. Lucy nodded.

"What do you want with us?" she asked them.

"You will enter the house of the oppressor." The voice demanded, shoving them towards and open space of field.

"What house?" Lucy asked tiredly.

"This one." On que a door opened before her, revealing a grand staircase. Lucy's eyes widened in awe.

"Upstairs you'll find the book of incantations. Recite the spell that makes the unseen, seen." Were the instructions given to the girls. Lucy took a moment to peer around the edges of the door, seeing only the garden.

"Well go on, we haven't got all day." The voices insisted.

"Why don't you just do it yourselves?" she turned to ask them.

"We can't read..."

"Can't write either as a matter of fact." Lucy frowned at how sad the voices seemed.

"Why didn't you say so?" Raelyn asked pointedly before heading inside with Lucy.

"Beware the oppressor…..he's very oppressive." The creatures warned as the duo entered.

"What makes the unseen, seen. Got it?" was the last thing they heard before the doors shut behind them.


	15. Chapter 15

As daylight broke out across the horizon everyone in the camp gradually began to stir. Caspian, being the first one up took note of all the footprints on the ground and quickly made his way over towards Edmund.

"Ed. Ed wake up." He whispered urgently, shaking the boy. Edmund mumbled something incoherent and blearily looked up at the man.

"Come on get up." Caspian insisted, his eyes looking over the ground worriedly. Edmund lifted himself up and glanced around. His drowsiness instantly lifted as he noticed a missing figure.

"Ray? Ray?!" Ed called, standing and whirling around.

"Wasn't she with you?" Caspian questioned with a frown.

"Yes, she was." Edmund grit out irritably. He didn't need the reminder that he was the one who apparently lost Raelyn. The two men stood and let their eyes follow the giant footprints that had made their way throughout the campsite.

"Where's Lucy?" Edmund asked, also noticing that his sister's sleeping area was vacant. Drinian, having heard the commotion quickly leapt to his feet to help.

"Everybody up. Get up!" he quickly rallied the sailors who drug themselves to their feet. Edmund spotted a smaller set of footprints near the larger ones. Following them he realized that they trailed from his sleeping mat all the way into the forest. With a groan Edmund realized what had happened. Running back to grab his weapon he followed after Caspian, dashing after the tracks. Soon enough everyone in camp was hot on their leader's heels…all except a still snoring Eustace.

...

Inside the mansion Lucy and Raelyn made their way through the elegant hallways. The walls were a dark wood, lined with gold trim which was accentuated by the light of the chandeliers that lit up the hallway. Raelyn gently let her hands drift over the intricate woodwork.

"This would be such a beautiful place…if not for the silent eerie energy going on." She weakly joked, hiding her nerves. Lucy shot her a small grin. The girl's footfalls echoed as they made her way to the end of the hall, walking through the already open door to find a large library. The duo paused, spotting a large book on a pedestal in the center of the room.

"No, not ominous at all." Raelyn muttered sarcastically, slowly leading the way into the room. She and Lucy glanced around as if waiting for something to happen. Reaching the large book Lucy frowned at the scattered lettering all over the cover. She reached for the latch and tugged, only to have it remain tightly locked. As she struggled with it, movement caught Raelyn's eye. In the corner of the pedestal a small cherub blew the dust off the book. Glancing down at the cover, Raelyn mentally shrugged. It wouldn't hurt. She leaned forward and gently blew on it. As the dust moved across the cover the words began righting themselves to form a clearer title as well as sprouting decorative roots along the edging.

"The Book of Incantations. This is the one." Raelyn read off with a grin. Lucy grinned along with her, amazed at the magic before opening the latch. Lucy curiously thumbed through the pages, smiling in wonder at the many spells and colorful illustrations that decorated the according verses. One particularly simple page caught her eye.

"With these words, your tone must sow. For all around there to be snow." She read aloud in confusion. A moment after she had finished reading she glanced at the black page adjacent to it. Her eyes lit up in delight as a snowflake landed. From beside her, Raelyn laughed. Lifting her eyes up Lucy beamed as snow began to fall all throughout the room, quickly covering everything with a fine layer of powder. Raelyn dashed around childishly, touching the white power that had taken over the room.

"It's real snow!" she laughed taking a moment to throw up a handful in delight.

"I'm going to see how far this spread." Raelyn informed before darting off to the far end of the room. As the redhead made her way throughout the room she began to let her eyes wander over the titles on the spines of the book. Soon she no longer noticed that the snow had melted away. Raelyn was too invested in how the library seemed to move along with her. As she explored, a faint sound of movement caught her attention. Raelyn glanced around not finding anyone else in her area of the library. Deciding to follow the noise she carefully made her way through the maze of bookshelves. A page turning caught her attention. Looking over at a small desk area she watched as pages in a book slowly began turning on their own. Raelyn blinked. Thinking back to the invisible creatures she wondered if that spell had expanded to others on the island. Taking a chance, she focused light back into her eyes and stared at the desk area. As she narrowed her gaze a tall male shape came into view. Again, she could only make out the outline of the figure.

"Who are you?" The man turned around in surprise before calmly staring back at her. He watched the girl stare at him intently. He stepped a few paces to the left and his eyes widened as her head turned accordingly.

"You can see me?" he asked curiously. Raelyn frowned.

"Yes, sort of. Are you the…oppressor?" she questioned, her body stiffening in case she had to run away. The man chuckled.

"I see you have met the creatures outside my mansion." He hummed in mild amusement.

"They didn't really give us much of a choice." She muttered, still watching the man warily.

"You have a gift of light young one. I'm impressed at how well you can handle it." He carried on easily. Raelyn became confused but didn't comment. The man didn't give off any bad vibes like the creatures had led her to believe he might possess. She remained silent as the figure began stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Have you always had your talents?" he questioned. Raelyn shuffled her feet.

"No, they kind of appeared by accident." She shrugged, unsure as to what this had to do with anything.

"You might just be the person I have been waiting on." He muttered lowly, but not low enough that she missed it.

"What?" she frowned. Before the man could answer, Raelyn was struck with a wave of nausea and dizziness. Once the main onslaught had diminished a bit, her head shot back towards the way she came from. She knew exactly what that feeling meant.

"Lucy!" Raelyn shouted in alarm, sprinting back through the library. The mist had made an appearance.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the massive delay with this story. Been pretty busy with graduation planning but hopefully now I will have time to give more attention to updating my writing. Thanks for sticking it out with me!**

 **...**

Lucy returned to the book and blew off the excess powder on the pages. Instantly the pages began to flip rapidly by an invisible force. She stepped back in shock before slamming her hand down to stop the movement. What she didn't notice was a hint of green mist oozing out the side of the book. Eerie whispers filled the now snowless room. Glancing around and finding no one Lucy nervously returned to the pages.

"An infallible spell to make you she. The beauty you've always wanted to be." Lucy read off. Her eyes lit up, instantly knowing who she wanted to be and darted to the mirror on the other page. She watched with interest as her face and hair slowly morphed into that of her older sister.

"Susan what's going…." Her laugh dropped as she realized 'Susan' was mouthing the words along with her. Lucy reached up to touch her cheek, the image in the mirror following.

"I'm beautiful." She gasped quietly. Biting her lip, Lucy darted over to a mirror on the wall. She frowned, realizing nothing had changed. When returning to the book the image fogged over.

"No!" Lucy shouted in alarm, but it did nothing to stop the fog. Scanning the top of the page, she found the spell she wanted and quickly tore out the page. A loud roar rang out, the pages flipping rapidly once again.

"Lucy! Lucy." A familiar voice called out in disappointment. Lucy jumped, and her eyes darted around.

"Aslan?" she asked nervously but it went unanswered.

"Lucy!" Raelyn shouted as she skid into the open area looking for the girl. Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you." she whispered nervously. Raelyn gave her an odd look as she glanced around the room.

"What do you mean?" the red head inquired. Lucy shrugged, her eyes flitting down to the page when Raelyn wasn't looking.

"I just thought I heard something. Must have been you calling for me." Lucy explained tightly. Raelyn nodded, playing off Lucy's unusual behavior for the moment.

"I thought I felt the mist, have you seen any?" Lucy shook her head. In all honesty she hadn't. Raelyn hummed and made her way back to the door just to double check. When her back was turned Lucy slowly shifted back to the book that had now settled. She stuffed the page up her tunic. Green mist rolled around in the shadows before disappearing once more, causing Raelyn to shudder. The mist was gone by the time she whipped around.

"Let's get this over with. I don't like the feeling of this place." Raelyn suggested, walking back to stand by Lucy. The two girls looked down scanning the page that had revealed itself. It was the very one she wanted. The spell to make the unseen, seen. Green mist rolled around in the shadows before disappearing once more. Lucy began reading the spell on the paper.

...

Meanwhile in the garden outside, the sailors of the Dawn Treader were making their way across the landscape, swords drawn as they searched for the missing girls.

"Caspian! Lucy's dagger." Edmund called quietly as he knelt by the discarded weapon. Caspian made he way over to the boy to have a look. The moment he did large spears began to rain down on the men who were now whipping around in confusion at the absence of attackers.

"Stop right there or perish!" a loud, growling voice warned. The men stood, eyes wide as they looked for the owner. Suddenly their swords were ripped from their hands and they tried to defend themselves against the invisible punches. Most were knocked around, unable to properly fight back as they couldn't see the attack coming.

...

"The spell is complete. Now all is visible." Lucy finished from inside the library. She and Raelyn looked around curiously, waiting for some sign that the spell had worked. The sound of footsteps caught the girl's attention and Lucy nervously backed towards Raelyn as a large figure began morphing before them. Raelyn watched unbothered as the form of a man began to take shape before gradually filling in to reveal the man she had been talking with earlier. He made his way into the main room, intently reading a book before noticing the two girls staring at him. Raelyn shot a small smile at the man who responded with a nod. It would seem they had things to discuss.

...

Outside, the men remained helpless as the creatures kept them corralled together.

"What sort of creatures are you?" Caspian asked warily as he scrambled up from the ground, making sure to avoid the floating swords pointed at them.

"Big ones." The grumbling voice answered.

"With the head of a tiger and the body of a…"

"Different tiger." Another voice chimed in for the leader. A chorus of agreement followed. The men stared curiously as the creatures as a vague outline began shimmering where the voices were.

"You don't want to mess with us." The leader threatened.

"Or what?" Edmund taunted, glancing around at the materializing figures around them.

"Or ill claw you to death." One threatened. However, as they fully appeared the threats were no longer legitimate. Edmund stared bemusedly at small, single giant footed dwarf-like man who had threatened the clawing. The other strange men agreed enthusiastically as they listed off other 'threats' involving nonexistent tusks and fangs.

"You mean squash us….with your fat bellies." Caspian corrected as they all completely appeared around him. The creatures cheered before pausing in confusion as they realized what was said.

"Tickle us with your toes?" Caspian continued with a chuckle. Startled, the head creature fell from where two of his friends were holding him up.

"What have you done with my girl and my sister you pipsqueak." Edmund growled, picking up his stolen sword and holding it eye level with the small man. The creature's eyes widened in alarm and he let out a fearful squeak.

"Now calm down."

"Where are they!" Edmund insisted.

"In the mansion." The small man told him. the crew glanced around and found no large building anywhere nearby.

"What mansion?" Edmund asked in confusion. As if to answer, a whooshing sound was heard over to his right. The humans looked over to see a large and ornate building appearing in the open field.

"Oh….that mansion." He mused in awe.

"You know I'm really getting tired of you all leaving me behi…." Eustace squawked as he barreled his way through the bushes. The boy paused as he stared dumbfounded at the scene before him. Large footed small men and a large mansion in the middle of a garden were not things you see every day.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder." He huffs. All of a sudden, the creatures frantically begin hopping away, shouting 'oppressor' fearfully. From around the corner Lucy, Raelyn, and the man from the library appeared.

"Ray." Ed grinned in relief before rushing over towards her. Raelyn giggled in delight and eagerly wrapped her arms around him.

"Lucy." He added with a grin, spotting his sister alongside his girlfriend.

"Your majesty." The bearded man bowed politely to both Caspian and Edmund.

"Caspian, Edmund. This is Corriarkin. It's his island." Raelyn explained with her arm wrapped around Edmund's waist. The two men bowed their heads in respect.

"That's what he thinks." The head creature shouted indignantly.

"You have wronged us magician." He insisted. Corriarkin stared at them as if scolding a child.

"I have not wronged you. I made you invisible for your own protection." He gently scolded, walking towards the retreating creatures.

"That's oppressive! Oppressor." Many of the creatures shouted protests as they were hopping back out of the garden.

"I have not oppressed you." Corriarkin insisted.

"But you could have, if you wanted to!" the leader insisted. Raelyn shook her head in amusement at the creatures.

"Be gone." The magician tossed some powder in the direction of the creatures who hurriedly escaped.

"What was that?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Lint. But don't tell them." The old man grinned mischievously.

"What were those?" Eustace questioned once the creatures had cleared the area.

"Dufflepuds." Corriarkin answered easily as he led the way into the mansion. Eustace scoffed sarcastically.

"Right of course silly me." He sputtered in annoyance. Raelyn grinned at him and made her way over towards the boy in the back.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've never seen or heard of them either. So, we are both just as lost as one another." She commented with a shrug. Eustace looked over at the redhead thoughtfully.

"Well I guess that does put things into perspective. I knew I wasn't the only one baffled by their presence." He huffed, trying not to come across as too thankful for her comforting words. Raelyn grinned knowingly. She quickly caught back up to Edmund who had waited on her. As the two walked side by side into the mansion he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Care to explain why your footprints were chasing after the….Dufflepuds on the beach?" he inquired, staring down at her with pursed lips. Raelyn glanced away, looking over the intricate carvings on the walls with interest.

"Sense of duty?" she ventured innocently. Edmund frowned at her in disapproval.

"Why didn't you just wake me up. It would have been much safer." Raelyn shrugged.

"It was faster if I went alone and I figured I would be ok, they weren't hurting Lucy." She timidly explained, fiddling with her fingers. Edmund frowned in concern. He wasn't sure he liked Raelyn not turning to him for help first. Of course he was glad she was gaining confidence and independence but he couldn't help the unsettling feeling that had taken hold in the back of his conscience.


	17. Chapter 17

Coriakin lead the main group through the mansion back towards his library, Lucy walking alongside him. Their footsteps echoed in the large hall as everyone remained relatively silent, aware of the heavy mood.

"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" Lucy questioned, glancing up at the older man as they continued down the dimly lit hallways.

"It seemed the easiest way to protect them. From the evil." He answered. Caspian and Edmund shared a wary glance.

"You mean the mist." Raelyn spoke up, her hand tightening onto Edmund's nervously. Coriakin stood to the side as he gestured for his guests to enter the study.

"I mean what lies behind the mist." He clarified, walking in behind Captain Drinian who had taken up the rear. The group looked around the room in awe. On the upper level of the room blue magic swirled around the bookshelves, allowing select book to float around the ceiling. The ceiling itself was speckled with starlight. Coriakin returned with a large map in his hand. With a flourish he unwound it and the paper spread itself out along the floor between everyone in the room. As soon as the map hit the floor blue water began shimmering in the center while clouds appeared just above it. The map came alive before them.

"It's quite beautiful." Eustace muttered in awe. Along the edges of the circle where live Narnian painting from the Golden days of Edmund and Lucy. The battle for Narnia, the campsites, Cair Paravel. The siblings looked up at their cousin with knowing grins. Eustace noticed and immediately tensed back up.

"I mean for a make believe map of a make believe world." He quickly retorted. Edmund shook his head, hiding his amusement at how long Eustace was holding onto that thought. Raelyn knelt down next to the borders, watching intently as the pictures began to move.

"It's so different than what I had imagined after all you told me." She mused quietly, turning to look up at Edmund with a grin. Ed returned it fondly. At the head of the map, Coriakin spoke up.

"Here is the source of the trouble." With a wave of his hand the map zipped across the oceans and past islands until it landed what looked like large gnarled branches encasing dark green smoke and an eerie glow. Raelyn swallowed thickly and shifted closer to Edmund. He swung and arm around the red head's shoulders, giving her a source of comfort. Coriakin glanced up at her reaction.

"Dark island. The place where evil lurks." Edmund stared at the man.

"It can take any form, it can make your darkest dreams come true." Coriakin informed, staring straight at the couple. Edmund's jaw hardened and he looked back down at the menacing island.

"It seeks to corrupt all goodness." Coriakin continued, this time glancing around at the rest of the group.

"It seeks to steal the light from this world." Raelyn looked up as she could feel eyes on her.

"How do we stop it?" Lucy inquired; her eyes hard with determination.

"You must break its spell." Coriakin explained. He whipped back around to face Edmund.

"That sword you carry, there are six others."

"Have you seen them?" Edmund inquired eagerly.

"Yes." Caspian looked up at the man with new interest.

"The six lords? They passed through here?" he reiterated.

"Yes, indeed."

"Where were they headed?" Caspian prodded.

"Where I sent them." Coriakin explained before shifting the map towards the east of the dark island. A large, more tropical and majestic looking island appeared.

"To break the spell, you must follow the blue star to Romandu's island." The magician further explained. As he did, he placed a floating blue ball just above the island. He looked around the room once more.

"There the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released." Caspian glanced back at Captain Drinian to make sure there was no protest about sailing that direction.

"But beware, you are all about to be tested." The magician continued, causing everyone to shift nervously.

"Tested?" Raelyn softly questioned. Coriakin turned towards her, meeting her gaze sternly.

"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand." He told her. Raelyn bit her lip, mulling that concept over.

"It will do everything in its power to tempt you." the man turned towards Lucy and stepped closer, staring her down intently.

"Be strong, don't fall for temptation." Coriakin continued. Lucy couldn't hold his gaze.

"To defeat the darkness out there, you must first defeat the darkness inside yourself." He told them, letting the words hang in the air.

"You my dear with your gift are exceptionally sensitive to the darkness. Trust your instincts." Coriakin added, turning towards Raelyn.

"Trust my instincts to do what?" she whispered with a frown.

"To sense when darkness is near. You are sensitive to its presence. With that gift you can help determine what is real and what the darkness is drawing out. The darkness will try to plant doubt within you to dull your senses." Coriakin explained seriously. Raelyn bit her lip unsurely. How would she know when she was corrupted? What use would she be if she was wrong about sensing the darkness? As if knowing her thought process Edmund held her tighter and pressed his lips against her temple.

"You'll do just fine. Don't worry." He whispered, hoping to reassure her. Raelyn nodded jerkily, even more intimidated by her task than before.

...

Once the crew had set out in the direction Coriakin had sent them, the storms started. Eustace nearly fell off his perch by one of the windows below deck when a large wave rocked the boat violently.

 ** _For reasons beyond my comprehension, we have taken the advice of a senile old coot who doesn't possess a razor and dawdles around in a dressing gown. So, we're back in this tub and lost in a tempest. Brilliant._**

The crew was all hands-on deck as the storm grew more violent. Many men had to help captain Drinian while others were below deck, working to keep the water out of the ship. Men rushed around as best they could to keep the sails in working condition.

 ** _Fourteen days of being tossed around like a pancake and not the slightest sight of land. The only consolation is, everyone is finally as miserable as I am. Except for that annoying talking rat. He's one of those glass is always half full types._**

...

Taking a break down below, Caspian sat in the window seat of his study staring out at the rolling waters beyond the windows. Captain Drinian placed a small stone on the map.

"So we're stuck here. With half rations we have food and water for two more weeks maximum." He explained, having to put his hand up to brace against the ceiling beam as the ship tossed about.

"This is your last chance to turn back your majesty." Drinian told Caspian pointedly. The prince glanced over at Edmund, looking for some input on the situation. Before Caspian could respond the door flew open and a soaking wet Raelyn came through the door, her eyes widening in alarm when she noticed who all was inside.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that you were having a meeting, I'll just go." She quickly backtracked but Edmund made his way across the room towards her. Taking her by the arm he tugged her back inside.

"It's still dangerous out there, what were you doing on deck. Ray you're soaked." He rushed out, looking to Caspian for assistance. The man quickly retrieved some towels from a cabinet and handed them over to the girl. Raelyn took them gratefully and wrapped them around herself. Everyone in the room stumbled as a wave shook the boat more forcefully.

"What were ya doing outside girl?" Captain Drinian questioned, eyeing her wet appearance. Raelyn shrugged, suddenly embarrassed.

"I….I was looking for the star." She murmured, staring down at her fingers. The other three in the room stared at her questioningly.

"I just thought that maybe I could sense it…or see it even through the storm. I don't know, it sounds kinda stupid now." Raelyn bit her lip, not daring to look up. Edmund wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulders.

"It's not stupid." Caspian assured, catching her eye. Raelyn shot him a grateful smile.

"There's no guarantee that we'll find the blue star anytime soon. Not in this storm. A needle in a haystack trying to find this Romandu place. We could sail right past it and right off the edge of the world." Drinian explained pointedly. He also shot he girl a grin, letting her know that it wasn't her fault they couldn't find anything.

"Or get eaten by a sea serpent." Edmund joked.

"Ed." Raelyn admonished while both Caspian and Drinian shot him an unamused look.

"I'm just saying the men are getting nervous. These are strange seas we're sailing, the likes of which I've never seen before." Drinian continued as he rounded the desk wobblily. Caspian stood and made his way towards the others by the desk.

"Then perhaps Captain, you would like to be the one to explain to Mr. Rinse that we are abandoning the search for his family." Caspian countered. Drinian frowned, reminded of what else was at stake with this trip. He nodded.

"I'll get back to it." He relented, reaching over to grab his large cloak before pausing at the door.

"Just a word of warning. The sea can play nasty tricks on a crew's mind. Very nasty." Drinian warned before slipping out back into the storm. Caspian and Edmund looked at one another worriedly, taking in what Drinian had told them.

"So, are we continuing onward?" Raelyn questioned, looking up at Caspian.

"I don't see any other choice other than giving up and turning back." He admitted, still unsure about the decision.

"There's no way this storm is a coincidence. I'm sure you made the right decision. After all, this weather can't last forever." Raelyn commented. Caspian grinned.

"A recognition of evil work at play?" Ray shrugged.

"Not really, just more gut feeling." she admitted. Caspian nodded.

"You two better get some sleep. And Ray, you need to get dried off." He chided. Edmund stiffened up around her.

"I'll take care of it. Goodnight Caspian." Ed assured. The prince bit the couple goodnight before leaving the study. The ship rocked violently again, tossing the two left over towards the ledge by the windows. After some stumbling, Edmund situated the two of them on the cushions comfortably.

"Ray what possessed you to go out into this storm?" he questioned.

"I just wanted to help. I hate feeling so useless! Even Coriakin said I was supposed to be some key factor in sensing the darkness but what good am I if we are stuck in this storm and we can't even see the dumb star." She grumbled honestly, wrapping the towel tighter around herself. Edmund sighed and shifted closer to her.

"It's not all on you to find the island Ray. It's a group effort. And you really won't be able to help if you catch a cold or even fall overboard while out on deck." He pointed out. Raelyn grinned wryly.

"That is a good point." She admitted with a chuckle. Edmund grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Now off to bed with you and get out of those wet clothes." He pulled her up with him, and guided her to the door. Raelyn rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Yes, mother." She teased.

"Hey! None of that from you." Ed chuckled. At the door Raelyn turned to press a kiss to his lips gently before heading back towards the room that she, Lucy, and Gael shared. As she walked along the halls Raelyn shuddered. With a frown she glanced around but found nothing indicating that something was amiss. But regardless she instantly felt on edge…something wasn't quite right on the ship.


	18. Chapter 18

_As she walked along the halls Raelyn shuddered. With a frown she glanced around but found nothing indicating that something was amiss. But regardless she instantly felt on edge…something wasn't quite right on the ship..._

...

Raelyn lay in bed, her face scrunching up as the uneasy feeling continued to churn in her gut. She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Sleep was not coming easily tonight. The small fireplace in the corner of her room crackled, breaking up the silence of the room. As she lied there silently a new noise caught her attention. Almost a whisper, but not one that brought her comfort. Raelyn slowly sat up in bed, her eyes flitting around for any indication of the disturbance. In the corner, her fire suddenly cut out and the room became significantly colder. Slipping out of the bed she grabbed a jacket and a small knife that were on her side table. Her eyes rapidly looked around the room…seeing nothing. The small lamp behind her went out with a hiss, causing her to jump in surprise with her weapon aimed. The room went nearly dark except for some light from the porthole windows. Raelyn swallowed nervously and focused. Slowly, she produced a small light in the palm of her hand allowing her to see whatever was within range. The girl stood in the center of the room, a knife in one hand and a ball of light in the other. Everything remained silent. So caught up in the moment she didn't even notice that the storm outside had been muffled….leaving the room in almost total silence. Raelyn could almost hear her heart pounding as she tried to shed more light around the room. A hiss caused her to jerk around, still seeing nothing.

"Weak.." a whisper on the back of her neck sent shivers down her spine. She spun around, having the same outcome as before. Nothing there.

"Useless…" this voice came from the side.

"Who's there." Raelyn called, ignoring the subtle shake in her voice. Another hiss came from the shadows. She waited for what seemed to be an eternity. The silence wore on, lulling her back into thinking the event was over. As her arms lowered, she was knocked off balance by an invisible force, nearly dimming the light in her hand. Raelyn gasped as she stumbled and tried to regain her balance. She cursed herself mentally for letting her guard down. Edmund and Caspian had taught her better.

"Coward…" her hair whipped around as she turned. Raelyn began backing herself towards a wall in effort to become more aware of everything around her. Another gust knocked her ball of light, causing it to flicker. Realizing what the attacker's goal was, she made the decision to sheath her knife in order to use both hands to shield her only light source. An angry screech set her on edge as wind began picking up around her.

"Weak…..Coward….Naive…..Childish…..Liability.." the whispers began increasing with the wind. Raelyn gasped, falling into a crouch on the floor as her light became harder to protect. Seeing no other option, the girl curled into herself and focused on her light. Groaning in effort she tried to ignore the words that were taunting her. Looking down she noticed that the light began to grow in her hands. The more the light grew the less darkness there was to taunt her. With a strained groan she focused even harder onto her hand.

"It's the mist. It's not right. Not right." She whimpered desperately. The wind continued to whip her hair and clothes harshly around her skin. Raelyn curled up tighter, gritting her teeth in effort against the heavy feeling coming from the surrounding darkness. With a loud shout she sent a surge of energy into the ball and with a blinding flash it bathed the whole room in a bright light. An enraged shriek died in the air as the light expanded. With her eyes shut tightly she felt the energy shift in the room. It had become warmer. Peeking open one eye she glanced around, finding the room just as it was before. Raelyn lifted her head and frowned at the still burning fireplace and candles. It was as if nothing had happened. Straightening up she warily looked over every inch of the room. Was it all in her head or did it actually happen? She shakily walked over to her bed and sat down, running a hand through her red locks. Maybe all her paranoia was getting to her.

As her heart calmed back down she felt another stirring in the air. The nausea was back….and that meant the mist. This time she could easily tell where it was.

"Lucy?!" she whispered in fear as she ran to the door, running as fast as she could to the room next to hers where Lucy and Gail were staying.


	19. Chapter 19

**DOUBLE UPDATE! Be sure to check out the previous chapter if you didn't already.**

...

 _As her heart calmed back down she felt another stirring in the air. The nausea was back….and that meant the mist. This time she could easily tell where it was._

 _"Lucy?!" she whispered in fear as she ran to the door, running as fast as she could to the room next to hers where Lucy and Gail were staying..._

...

Raelyn burst into the room the same time a large thunderclap shook the boat. In the bed Lucy bolted up, breathing heavy with tear stains on her cheeks. Gail remained asleep on the other side.

"Lucy? What happened?" The girl looked up at Raelyn with wet cheeks and ran over to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

"It was awful. I wanted to be beautiful like Susan and….and I wasn't even there…..and you were gone…and no Narnia…Oh Raelyn it was awful!" Lucy hiccupped, still holding onto the taller girl. Raelyn hugged her back comfortingly, while her eyes glanced around the suite warily. Seeing no immediate danger, she gave her full attention to the girl in her arms.

"Did this have anything to do with whatever happened at the library?" Raelyn quietly asked, not wanting to wake Gail. Lucy looked up at her sharply.

"How did you know about that?" she inquired.

"I felt the mist. I don't know how I knew were it was coming from but I did and it led me to you. It was gone when I arrived. I felt it again just now." Raelyn explained. Lucy nodded silently.

"I'm sorry. I should never have taken the spell." She muttered. Raelyn reached up to run her hand over the top of Lucy's hair.

"Temptation will happen to all of us, but you knew well enough that it wasn't right. Lucy you are beautiful and don't let anyone or anything convince you otherwise." Raelyn soothed. Lucy grinned and let go of the redhead. She grinned weakly up at her.

"Thanks. I guess your gift is already coming in handy huh?" she mused with a chuckle. Raelyn grinned.

"Well at least it's something useful." Suddenly Raelyn blinked uneasily, feeling another rush of nausea.

"But I don't think this is over yet. The mist is still on the ship." she whispered before heading for the door, Lucy on her heels. Making her way rapidly through the halls below deck, Raelyn caught a glimpse of smoke turning the corner. As she bolted that direction, the ship lurched and Lucy was knocked over.

"Raelyn wait!" she called but her voice was drowned out by another thunder-clap while Raelyn raced on without her. Keeping up with the mist, she followed it down the stairs where it began encircling Caspian and Edmund in their hammocks.

"Caspian! Ed! Wake up!" Raelyn rushed over to Edmund trying to wake the boys up, coughing and trying to wave away the mist that was trying to deter her.

...

 _Caspian was restless in his sleep as he continued to call out for his father. Edmund glanced over at his companion but ignored it as he stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest. On the other side of Caspian, a pillar of green mist rose up._

 _"Edmund." A cool voice called from the pillar. Edmunds heart froze, eyes bulging in terror as he heard a voice he hoped never to experience again. Glancing over in disbelief he spotted a figure in the smoke._

 _"Edmund. Come with me, join me." A flash of lightning revealed the torso of the White Witch, reaching out her hand for him. Edmund froze as he stared at her._

 _"She won't need you anymore Edmund. Come with me, I need you my king." The icy voice taunted from the shadows. Ed finally got his body into gear and he shot up, whipping his sword to point it her direction._

...

"Edmund!" the boy nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. However, he sagged in relief as he realized it was Raelyn shaking his shoulder with worried eyes. Edmund swallowed and looked back over at the now empty wall where his sword was still aimed.

"Ed?" Raelyn questioned, glancing between him and the wall. Edmund reluctantly relaxed, forcing himself to even out his breathing.

"I'm okay Ray." He assured, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Raelyn stared at his ashen face, knowing that wasn't totally true.

"Raelyn?!" Lucy called as she finally made it into the room.

"I thought you were right behind me?" Raelyn questioned with a frown. Lucy huffed.

"I got held up." She muttered. Raelyn and Edmund shared a wary glance. Before anything else could be said, another burst of lightning lit up the room and Caspian now shot up breathing heavily.

"Can't sleep?" Raelyn asked, her eyes solemn as she already knew the answer.

"Let me guess? Bad dreams?" Edmund muttered, looking around the room at everyone.

"So either we're all going mad…."

"…or something has been messing with our minds." Raelyn finished for Edmund. Everyone stared at her curiously. Raelyn licked her lips.

"I could feel the mist; it's been making its rounds below the deck. It's gone now." She whispered shakily. Edmund gripped her hand tighter.

"How do you know?" Edmund questioned. Raelyn shot her head up and frowned at him. He didn't believe her?

"I just do. I know it's gone. I saw it vanish here and now the sinking feeling is gone." She explained to him vehemently. Realizing he had upset her Edmund nodded meekly. The group sat in silence for a while, ignoring the storm that continued outside.

"I think we should all try to get some sleep." Caspian whispered. The girls nodded and moved to head back to the stairs. With murmurs of goodnight the girls went back to their rooms. Raelyn glanced back at Edmund who gave her a weak smile, trying not to show how shaken he had been. Walking with Lucy Raelyn's head spun with guilt. She should have prevented it shouldn't she? What use was she if she couldn't even drive away nightmares. Was there anything she can do to try and guard the others against the mist?


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning the sun finally broke through and the storm disappeared, giving everyone a sense of relief. Within a few hours another island was spotted, and the crew made their way towards it. This island lacked any obvious greenery and there seemed to be billows of smoke rising from multiple places across the dusty hilltops. The ship set anchor a ways out and from there, two rowboats were sent out to explore and replenish supplies.

"I doubt the lords stopped here my liege, there's no sign of anything living." Reepicheep pointed out from the bow of one rowboat. He led one boat while in the other sat Eustace, Edmund, Caspian, Lucy, and Raelyn.

"Right, well once we get ashore take the men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues." Caspian instructed as he rowed. Eustace's head jerked up in alarm.

"Hang on you mean the five of us." He pointed out. Caspian's eyes widened and he paused with his back to the boy; Raelyn giggled at his reaction. Everyone in the boat slowly turned to look at the boy in the back with incredulous expressions. Eustace deflated and pursed his lips in displeasure.

"Come on, please don't send me back to the rat." He sighed despondently.

"I heard that." Reepicheep retorted from the boat next to them. Eustace glowered and turned to face the other direction.

"Big ears." He sulked.

"I heard that too." Reepicheep's banter earned a snicker from everyone on the boat. However, Eustace didn't find it as amusing as the rest of them.

...

Once they pulled the boats ashore everyone began grabbing their gear to explore the deserted island. Caspian, Lucy, Edmund and Raelyn took off further inland while the rest of the crew pulled out the crates and barrels they hoped to fill. No one noticed the Eustace had slipped away.

...

Inland, the group maneuvered their way across rocky terrain being sure to avoid the cracks where smoke was floating out of the earth.

"So, we're not the first ones on this island." Caspian pointed out as he quickly made his way towards a large hole in the ground. Next to it a rope had been tied around a large rock formation before it lowered down.

"The lords." Edmund suggested.

"Could be." Caspian muttered. Raelyn frowned and leaned down to pick up a rock before dropping it down the cavern. Caspian looked at her in amusement as they listened to it descend past their viewpoint. Raelyn shrugged.

"I don't know what it's supposed to do…..I just read it in a book once and I've always wanted to try it." She explained sheepishly to the looks she was getting. Caspian nodded.

"It helps you know how far down it goes and maybe what the ground is made of." He explained gently.

"Oh." She hummed, leaning forward to look at hole. Edmund tensed and took a step closer to keep a grip on her waist worriedly. She smiled back at him and straightened up to ease his anxiety.

"What do you think will be down there?" Raelyn asked curiously. The others shrugged.

"Let's find out." Edmund offered, already grabbing the rope leading down the hole.

"Wait what if it breaks? We don't know how long its been here." Raelyn countered, biting her lip nervously.

"I'll keep a hold on the rope, make sure he doesn't fall." Caspian offered. Raelyn nodded and moved to stand by Lucy, her arms crossed over her chest tightly. Edmund gave an experimental tug on the rope before scaling down the wall of the cavern. Caspian held on tightly from the topside as the group watched the younger boy descend. Reaching the bottom Edmund glanced around the sprawling cavern, lit up by the cracks in the ground above. The cave was supported by columns of rock which jutted out sporadically. Below, there were various deep pools of water. Seeing that Edmund was safely on the ground Caspian began climbing down next, followed by Raelyn and Lucy. Edmund narrowed his eyes at Caspian as he helped the redhead down from the rope. Clenching his fists tightly he turned away from the scene and wandered over by the edge of the largest pool. He stopped, spotting a human statue in the water; posed as if it were frantically reaching for something.

"What's that?" Caspian asked, walking over to join him.

"I don't know. It looks like some kind of gold statue." Ed shrugged.

"That's an odd pose for a statue." Raelyn murmured with a frown. Meanwhile Ed had walked back towards the walls of the cave and yanked out a long root. He knelt next to the water and reached the stick towards the statue. However, he could feel the weight change and lifted it out of the water curiously. Before their eyes the brown of the root was rapidly being replaced by solid gold; slowly making its way down the wood. Ed held tight and watched it with wide eyes as the gold continued down towards his hand.

"Ed drop it!" Raelyn shouted in warning as he let the gold get close to his hands. Ed's eyes widened in realization and he quickly threw it into the water. The four of them looked at one another.

"He must have fallen in." Caspian realized as he took a step closer to the water.

"Poor man." Lucy mused.

"You mean poor Lord." Edmund corrected, pointing out the nearby shield in the pool.

"The crest of Lord Restimar." Caspian lowered his head in thought.

"And his sword." Edmund reminded, spotting the weapon in the water unharmed by the magic of the pool.

"We need it." Caspian muttered as the two boys prepared themselves to get it back. Suddenly Raelyn's head began swimming and her heart raced at the implication. The mist was nearby.

"Careful…..somethings not right." She warned them, her head whipping around to try and find the source.

"We'll be fine, no need to worry." Ed assured easily, not looking at her as he pulled out his own sword. Caspian kept a tight hold on Edmund's arm while the man stretched out the other in order to slip the tip of his sword under the handle of the other in order to fish it out.

"Your sword hasn't turned to gold." Lucy pointed out.

"Perhaps because the swords are magic." Caspian suggested, pulling Edmund farther from the pool. Edmund swung the weapon around, allowing Caspian to grasp it.

"He mustn't have known what hit him." Lucy remarked sadly. Edmund frowned in thought.

"Maybe….or maybe he was onto something." He mused. Raelyn shot him a sharp look out of the corner of her eye. Edmund set his sword down and began looking around the cave floor for something.

"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked skeptically. Edmund picked up a seashell and gently touched it to the water. Quickly pulling it back up he set it on the ground, watching it turn into gold. As if in a trance Ed stared at the new shell, snatching it up and looking at it in awe. Raelyn frowned worriedly at the expression on his face. She didn't like it at all.

"Ed…what are you staring at?" she asked, taking a step towards him. Ed blinked owlishly and glanced back at the water, ignoring her question.

"Whoever has access to this pool, could be the most powerful person in the world." He muttered thoughtfully. Raelyn fidgeted anxiously as his eyes grew even more enamored with the object in his hand. The knot in her stomach began to grow as she watched him intently. Raelyn glanced over to her left and saw Caspian glaring at Ed suspiciously. Edmund whipped his head around to look at his sister.

"Lucy…we'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do or who to live with." He explained with a dark undertone to his voice. His eyes shot over towards Raelyn, who shifted away from the look.

"We could have everything we would ever need. I could take care of you." he insisted eagerly. Raelyn tilted her head and frowned in confusion.

"You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund." Caspian told him. Edmund scoffed.

"Says who?" he asked wryly, staring at the shell once more.

"I do." Caspian warned. Edmund slowly turned his head towards the older man, his eyes narrowing in contempt. He stood, grabbing his sword tightly in his hand. Raelyn quickly grabbed Lucy's arm and moved her away from the two of them, worried about what was going to happen. It was quickly becoming clear that they were no longer in their right minds.

"I'm not your subject." Edmund sneered.

"You've been waiting for this haven't you. You've been waiting to challenge me; you doubt my leadership." Caspian scoffed with a menacing grin. Edmund quickly squared off, chest to chest with the prince.

"You doubt yourself." Edmund snarled.

"You're a child."

"And you're a spineless sap." At the growing tension Lucy quickly stepped forward.

"Edmund…." She tried to break them up, but Edmund roughly pushed her aside.

"Caspian stop this." Raelyn tried. At the sound of her voice Edmund whipped his head around to stare at her intently.

"It's always Caspian you look to for help isn't it. Him or just yourself. Don't act like you still need me anymore. You're becoming just like everyone else. Forgetting me and going after the 'real' heroes. Well I'm not going to just sit by and let it happen anymore." Edmund growled, whipping back around to face Caspian even more furious than before. Raelyn stared at him, shocked by what he had said to her.

"I'm tired of playing second fiddle. First it was Peter and now it's you. You know I'm braver and more capable than both of you." Edmund snarled at Caspian who was watching with a demeaning grin.

"Why do you get Peter's sword? Why do you keep stepping in for Raelyn? I deserve a kingdom of my own. I deserve to rule! And I deserve to take care of what's mine." Edmund continued, his voice becoming louder and louder.

"You think you're so brave…..prove it!" Caspian demanded, shoving the boy back. Edmund released an enraged battle cry as he swung his sword; ready for battle. The two men clashed weapons, snarling at one another.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Raelyn shouted, lashing out with two beams of light to knock the swords from their hands. The two froze and looked back at the girls who were staring at them with wide eyes.

"Look at yourselves. Can't you see what's happening? This place has tempted you. It's bewitching you." Lucy pointed out tearily, looking between them with disappointment.

"This is exactly what Coriakin was talking about." Raelyn pointed out, much quieter than before. The boys remained silent as they let the news dawn on them.

"Let's just get out of here." Lucy suggested, heading back towards the rope. Raelyn glanced between the two boys and shook her head. She followed Lucy but paused in front of Edmund who watched her with apologetic eyes.

"I thought you knew me better than that. Do you really think I would treat you like you were nothing?" She whispered harshly, not allowing the tears to overflow. Edmund swallowed thickly, not knowing what to say. With a sigh she continued onward, not turning when Edmund called after her. As he watched her begin climbing back up Edmund stared at the shell still clutched tightly in his other hand. He quickly tossed it back into the pool. Sheathing his sword he headed up the rope, dreading the conversation that was bound to happen.


	21. Chapter 21

Caspian and Lucy walked alongside of one another as they led the way back to the beach. Raelyn determinedly kept herself a few yards in front of Edmund who remained silent on the trek back. His eyes would continuously flit her direction, but the tightness of her shoulders would prevent him from saying anything. She was still bothered and upset by what was said in the cave. Any attempt to make amends would quickly be shot down. The silver lining from it was that he could take some time to think about what he was going to say to her. Back at the rowboats, the crew was loading up their baskets as they waited for the royals to join them.

"What food did you find?" Caspian inquired, glancing down at the small amount inside. Raelyn frowned at how little they were able to acquire.

"It's volcanic your majesty. Not much grows." Mr. Rince informed apologetically.

"It's still better than nothing. Thank you for getting what you could." Raelyn smiled in assurance at the man. Meanwhile Lucy glanced around the area, her brow furrowing as she realized someone was missing.

"Where's Eustace?" she questioned.

"I believe he's out not helping us load the boats." Reepicheep commented wryly.

"Eustace…Eustace!" Lucy called, receiving only the sound of her echo in return. She turned around to face her brother worriedly.

"Edmund I've got a bad feeling." Edmund frowned in distaste. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll go find him." he muttered, turning to head back inland.

"I'll come with you." Caspian added, looking to Edmund gently. Ed nodded his consent, and his forgiveness about what had happened in the cave. Both were remorseful for what had been said and done and Caspian's offer to help solidified that there were no hard feelings left between them.

"I can wait here and make sure nothing happens to the boat while everyone else goes back to the ship." Raelyn chimed in quietly. Ed glanced back at her sharply but refrained from protesting like he normally would. Instead he nodded stiffly. Raelyn frowned in confusion, watching him intently. Without another word he handed her the extra sword they had acquired from the cave.

"Just in case. We'll be back soon." He murmured gently. With that he turned back around and headed off into the hillsides with Caspian following along.

...

The two men made the trek up the mountainside, taking turns in calling out for the lost boy. Turning a corner, they paused and stared out at the field of gold within the canyon.

"Treasure." Edmund whispered.

"Trouble." Caspian countered knowingly. Edmund looked back at the sight and leaned forward as he spotted something familiar. Sliding down the side of the cliff he jogged over and gently picked up the singed shoe.

"Eustace…" he muttered, his face dropping in mild horror. Walking further along he spotted the rest of his cousin's clothes smoking in a pile.

"No…" Edmund knelt, frantically rifling through the clothing. Gingerly he picked up the diary Eustace always carried with him.

"My cousin." He whispered sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry." Caspian offered his condolences.

"He was just a boy. I never should have left him." Ed licked his lips, his voice full or remorse. He had acted so horribly to Eustace and now his cousin was gone. Caspian glanced around, searching for clues as to what had happened.

"What could have happened to him?" Edmund wondered. Caspian's eyes didn't leave the skeleton by the wall.

"In this place, anything." He stood and walked over towards it.

"And he wasn't the first. It's Lord Octesian. We should find his…" Caspian trailed off as he turned and saw Edmund picking up what they needed. Ed pulled the sword out to do a quick inspection of it before sliding it back into its sheath.

...

Down at the beach Raelyn sighed, leaning her head on her fist as she waited for the boys to come back. The rest of the crew and Lucy had returned to the ship which left her sitting alone with the rowboat. Raelyn sighed again, standing up to stretch her legs. They should be coming back any minute now. The silence was broken by the sound of a guttural type rumbling. Her head turned in that direction. There hadn't been any noises like that before…..It rumbled again. Raelyn stood straighter and kept her eyes pealed for movement. That noise did not come from any physical feature of the island. Something else was on it with them. The sound of wind whipping around caught her attention and she turned towards the sound. Raelyn's eyes widened in awe and terror as a large golden dragon emerged from behind the mountainside. It screeched viscously and made its way towards the beach. The beast's head whipped around as if it were searching for something. Raelyn froze, her eyes widening as the dragon locked her eyes onto her own. It swiftly turned and headed straight for her. Raelyn looked around wildly, unable to find anywhere she could hide. Running over she hesitantly picked up the sword Edmund had left for her. She could use it but….did she really want to get that close to a dragon? Placing the weapon back down she turned and began powering up her hands. Focusing on the type of light she enhanced the brightness and color before placing them together and aiming the light at the dragon's eyes. The golden beast screeched in pain and shook its head rapidly in distress. Turning away from its path the dragon fled away from her and headed out to sea….towards the ship.

"Oh what have I done!" Raelyn lamented, bringing her hands up to her forehead in dismay. She had just redirected the dragon towards the rest of the crew. From there all she could do was watch as it landed on the mast after circling the ship. The dragon flew haphazardly and tried to sit on the mast but after some struggling it was forced away. Raelyn watched as it turned back towards the island, taking a less direct route this time.

...

Just moments after the dragon's disappearance, Caspian and Edmund were quickly making their way back towards the rowboat left for them. At the sight of them Raelyn whipped around frantically, startling the boys. Ed quickly picked up his pace and left Caspian behind.

"Ed…there.."

"Ray what's wrong.." the two of them stuttered over one another in a rush figure out the situation.

Caspian kept his leisurely pace as he watched with a small smile. As he walked the wind picked up behind him. Caspian paused, listening to see where it was coming from. He turned back just in time to duck down as the large golden dragon barreled towards him.

"Raelyn! Ed!" he shouted in warning but was too late. The duo turned around at the dragon was just on top of them. Ed pushed Raelyn aside on instinct just as the clawed hand wrapped around his torso, pulling him up into the air.

"Ed!" Raelyn shouted in distress. The dragon turned its head in her direction.

"Uh oh." She muttered, realizing her mistake.

"Ray run!" Edmund shouted as he struggled in the scaly grip. The redhead took his advice and raced down the beach, turning frequently to shoot beams of light at it. However, with the movement her aim as off and the dragon easily dodged the attacks. Soon enough another claw reached out and picked her up, gently cradling her against its chest. She screamed, unsure of what to do as the dragon took off even higher into the air. The dragon held onto the its captives as it swooped around past the ship and scaring the crew as they realized who were being carried.

The two of them struggled in the creature's grip as it flew them over the mountainsides and down into the valleys.

"Ed where are we going?!" Raelyn shouted as she twisted around in the dragon's grip.

"I don't know. This is all new! Just hang on." He told her, glancing back worriedly. As they cleared a particularly large mountain stopped Edmund stopped struggling, spotting the letters in the lava below. Ray glanced at what he was looking at and frowned incredulously.

"Does that say what I think it does?" she asked, looking over at Edmund in disbelief.

 **'I AM EUSTACE'** Was Spelled out in red among the black rocks. Edmund's jaw dropped.

"You have got to be joking." He deadpanned, staring at the words. The dragon, Eustace, turned back towards the beach. As they flew back Raelyn craned her neck to look up at him, frowning as she caught his frightened expression.

"It'll be alright. I don't know how….but I'm sure we'll figure this all out." she quietly assured, setting a hand on his scaly neck. Eustace glanced down at her, his eyes grateful for the kind words.


	22. Chapter 22

Back at the beach, Eustace had landed which allowed Edmund and Raelyn to explain what was going on. Eustace limped as he stood by them, keeping one of his large paws off the ground. Raelyn frowned and looked over at it, realizing there was a large bracelet digging painfully into his forearm.

"He must have been tempted by the treasure." Edmund suggested, looking at the gold band.

"Everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted." Caspian cut in. Eustace growled, shooting the man an offended glare.

"Well anyone from…here." Caspian amended apologetically. Raelyn pursed her lips and walked over towards the dragon. Edmund tensed, watching as Eustace shifted away from her warily.

"I hardly think this is the time to be stubborn. Let me help you." Raelyn scolded, holding out her arms impatiently towards the band. Eustace's ears flattened in embarrassment and he reluctantly reached his limb out towards her. With a tug the band came off; Eustace yelping in pain as it did. Raelyn quickly tossed the bracelet aside.

"Is there any way to change him back?" Edmund asked once Raelyn had returned to his side.

"Not that I know of." Caspian trailed off, looking to Drinian for help. The captain merely shrugged, just as clueless as Caspian was.

"Aunt Alberta will not be pleased." Edmund winced. Raelyn scowled and smacked him.

"Ed!" she reprimanded, looking over at Eustace who was glaring at the ground.

"Sorry about the hand old boy…I….I can be a bit overzealous at times." Reepicheep apologized, smiling sheepishly up at the large dragon. Eustace eyed him skeptically.

"The boats are ready sire." Tavros, the minotaur, called as those who had come back to shore were gearing up to leave. Realyn whipped around to look at Caspian and Edmund pleadingly.

"We can't just leave him alone." She pointed out.

"Well we can't bring him on board." Drinian countered.

"Drinian you take a boat back to the ship. The rest of us will stay here till morning and….figure out what to do." Caspian instructed, blowing out a breath of frustration.

"But you have no provisions. And no means of staying warm your majesty." Mr. Rince pointed out worriedly. As if on que a burst of air swept across the beach, causing a shiver to course through them. Eustace frowned thoughtfully and spotted a piece of driftwood. He swirled his tongue in his mouth experimentally before blowing out a burst of fire, setting the wood alight instantly. Everyone jumped back in surprise.

"You were saying." Reepicheep gestured to the fire pointedly. The group chuckled in delight, while Eustace licked his mouth at the foreign feeling.

"Well done Eustace." Raelyn praised. The dragon glanced down at the sand bashfully.

...

That night everyone was circled around the fire, settling in for bed. Caspian and Edmund lied awake staring up at the clear sky above.

"I've never seen these constellations before." Edmund mused.

"Me neither. We're a long way from home." Caspian agreed.

"When I was a boy I used to imagine sailing to the end of the world…and finding my father there." Caspian hummed; his head tilted up to stare at the stars. Edmund glanced over at him.

"Maybe you will." Caspian smiled softly and glanced down at the man. However, Edmund's gaze was now locked at a lone figure sitting on a rock outcropping, staring up at the stars.

"You should go talk to her." Caspian encouraged. Edmund winced.

"I'm not sure she'll want to talk. I was pretty awful." He admitted.

"I think she's already forgiven you. But you can't let it just pass by. You need to talk to each other." Caspian pressed once more. Edmund sighed, knowing he was right and stood up. Taking in a deep breath he made his way over to join her.

...

As Edmund walked closer towards Raelyn, he watched her face admiring how the firelight from the small stick of driftwood she brought highlighted her features. He stood there for a while, just staring at her with a small grin all the while wondering what he could possibly say.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" her quiet voice caused him to jump. Raelyn turned her head to look at him, waiting for his next move. Edmund glanced up at the sky.

"Yea, nothing like I've seen before." He admitted walking over towards her. As he approached Raelyn shifted over, giving Edmund space to sit down next to her. The small fire sat just in front of them on the rock. It gave off just enough heat to keep away the bulk of the chill in the air. Edmund sighed, sitting with his knees up as he fiddled with his fingers. Raelyn remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm sorry about what I said in the cave." He finally told her. She nodded.

"I already forgave you." she admitted gently. Edmund's head whipped around to look at her.

"I just want to know why you thought that?" she asked, searching his face intently for an answer. Edmund's clenched his jaw tightly.

"I don't really. It was just the mist talking." He dismissed uncomfortably. Raelyn smiled ruefully at him.

"That's not how it works, Ed. The mist amplifies our deepest fears, whether we are aware of them or not. It doesn't make things up." She pointed out knowingly. Ed grimaced, hoping they wouldn't have to get into it. Running a hand roughly through his hair he looked out over the dark water, unable to look at her as he explained.

"I just…..I've never been first pick for anything. Peter was the oldest, so everyone looked up to him and he was responsible to keeping all of us protected. I'm the third so all I had was Lucy under me, and I spent so many years abusing that. Lucy doesn't need me like she does Peter. No one ever needed me to be there for them…." He began, his voice tight as he continued staring blankly ahead. Raelyn frowned but didn't interrupt him.

"…and then we came to Narnia and I was a king. But not the High King. It wasn't as much of a big deal then. This time Peter isn't here and I thought maybe this was my chance to prove myself as the leader. Instead I'm still behind Caspian. No one looks to me for anything." He looked over at the redhead beside him and grinned sardonically.

"You were the only one that needed me like that. I finally had someone who I could take care of. I liked that; it made me feel needed. But you started defending yourself, taking care of things without me and I was afraid of losing you. I'm not saying you can't be independent or don't need to take care of yourself because you have every right to. I was just hoping that you would want me to do it for you. I don't want to be left behind again." Edmund whispered honestly, his eyes glassing over. He blinked hard, pushing the wetness back.

"I'm sorry." He told her again, staring hard at the rock below them. The tense air that followed his admission was broken by her warm hand reaching out to grasp his. Edmund tilted his head up to look at her. At his broken expression she shifted closer and enveloped him in a hug.

"Ed, I'm sorry you feel that way. But it's not true. You may not always be the one in charge but you are always there for when things go south. Second doesn't mean forgotten, it means you're the most trusted person in the group. The one people turn to when the leaders can't handle it. As for this trip I just didn't want to become a burden to you and wanted to be able to take care of things myself. It has nothing to do with me not wanting you around. I will always need you, but I want you to be able to depend on me too. I just wanted to be your second." She told him seriously, burying her head into his neck. Edmund reached out and returned her hug, pulling her tightly against him. The two of them sat in silence for a while, just content to be in one another's arms. As the small fire began to die out Raelyn let out a yawn. Ed chuckled and looked down at her endearingly.

"Ready to head back?" he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She nodded sleepily. With a gentle grin Edmund helped her up and wrapped his arm around her as he led to back towards the main fire. Once she had settled down comfortably, he slid in behind her and wrapped his small blanket around the two of them.

...

The next morning the fire had long died out and everyone was still fast asleep. Gail was the first to wake and when she did, she let out a gasp of delight.

"Lucy. Lucy wake up!" she whispered excitedly, shaking the girl next to her. Lucy jolted awake and looked up to where the small girl was pointing.

"The blue star." She grinned, spotting the bright blue orb just above the horizon.

"Everybody! Everybody wake up, it's the blue star!" Lucy called, rousing everyone from their sleep. The group slowly sat up to see what she was talking about. Realyn rubbed her eyes and looked up at the glowing light with a grin. Finally, something was going right.


	23. Chapter 23

**I had not realized that I had neglected this story for as long as I had! It got left behind while I got caught up in my other stories. So here's a bit of a filler chapter to prove that it is not discontinued. I will get out a better one as soon as I can.**

...

Very shortly after, the party had re-boarded the Dawn Treader. Captain Drinian stood on the upper level of the ship, supervising as the ship made its way towards the blue star. Eustace flew around the ship, being sure to hover close by.

By the railing Raelyn let her eyes roam over the flowing water beneath them. As they traveled, she decided to keep herself occupied by manipulating some light to make rainbows among the sea spray. After a few minutes a figure flashed around just under the water surface. Raelyn paused and watched it for a moment in curiosity. Soon a human-like creature made of water popped above the surface, smiling at the redhead. Raelyn's face lit up excitedly. The water nymph tossed a stream of water up a few feet above the surface. As it fell back down the nymph looked up at her imploringly. Raelyn quickly caught on and the next stream of water that arose she shot out a beam of light towards it. The combination of the two caused a bright and sparkly light to dance through the seawater. Raelyn laughed in delight as she and the nymph continued their game as the ship sailed onward.

The game continued for a few miles. Suddenly the nymph paused, no longer swimming alongside the ship. Confused, Raelyn straightened up and watched her new friend curiously. The nymph waved rapidly at her. With a shrug, assuming she had to leave, Raelyn waved back with a soft grin. However, the smile slipped off her face as she realized the nymph was waving in warning, shaking her head frantically. Raelyn watched the water creature frown in dismay as they sailed past before she turned in the opposite direction. Surely that wasn't a good sign.

...

Moments after the nymph had disappeared the wind suddenly stopped. Everyone on deck paused what they were doing, glancing around as if they could find whatever had halted the winds. As the ship slowed down to a near stop, Captain Drinian began barking orders for the men to go below deck and start rowing. Raelyn shifted out of the way as the men rushed to their new jobs. Once the deck was relatively clear she made her way over towards Edmund and Caspian who were discussing plans with Drinian.

"The winds have left us." Drinian commented sternly. Raelyn shifted next to Edmund against the railing.

"So how do we get to Romandu's Island now then?" Edmund questioned worriedly.

"My guess is that something doesn't want us to get there." Drinian pointed out instead, walking past Edmund and Caspian. Raelyn frowned.

"Doesn't necessarily mean we shouldn't." she retorted with a shrug as the Captain left. The two boys shot her looks of amusement.

"Maybe it's a sign that we should alter our course." Caspian sighed thoughtfully. Raelyn whipped her head around to look at him.

"I don't believe that for a second. If anything, I think this would prove that we are right on course." She retorted. Edmund grinned, tugging her closer to himself.

"Well that's enough for me." He chirped. Caspian grinned back at the duo.

"Now if only the crew shared your optimism." He muttered, watching the few remaining men left on the deck. Overhead, Eustace continued to hover by the ship.

"If I get any hungrier, I'm going to eat that dragon." One of the crewmen sneered as he glanced up at the dragon. Eustace whipped around to turn and glare back at the man. On top of his head, Reepicheep quickly pacified the large dragon.

"Don't worry about him Eustace, he'll have to deal with me first." The mouse assured. He yelped as Eustace darted off back around the ship irritably.

"I should hope that no one would think to stoop that low." Raelyn added warningly. The man on deck pursed his lips before getting back to work. Captain Drinian shot her a look from where he had paused on the steps above.

"If we don't find land by tonight, they might well eat that…." Drinian's comment was cut off as the ship lurched forward violently, knocking everyone off their feet.

"What did we hit?" Caspian asked as he scrambled up with everyone else. All those on board raced towards the front of the boat. Edmund grinned as he spotted the source. He gently tapped Raelyn's shoulder and pointed her towards the front of the ship.

"Eustace that's brilliant!" Ed cheered. Everyone else turned towards the front of the ship where Eustace had wrapped his tail around the wooden dragon head that decorated the bow. The large dragon pulled the ship forward, putting them back at a steady pace once again.

...

Down in the study, Caspian examined the three swords they currently had while Edmund soaked in the sun on the adjoining balcony. Raelyn sat in the chair across from Caspian, watching Ed with an amused expression.

"We can't even be sure the other lords even made it to Romandu's island." The prince pointed out with a frown. Both Ed and Raelyn turned to look at him with thoughtful expressions.

"There's only one way to find out."


End file.
